YuYu Hakusho: Tournament of Threes Saga
by Last of the Star Makers
Summary: Ansatusha Saga Sequel. The only way to enter into the Tournament of Threes [the Dark Tourney's predecessor] is by receiving a personal invite. Guess who's been invited? Yup! Everyone's favorite spirit detectives! I don't own YYH [rats] just my characters.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Welcome all to Yu Yu Hakusho: Tournament of Threes. And to those of you returning from the Ansatsusha Saga, welcome back! Yes this is in fact a sequel, I'm sorry. And yes some of it won't make sense unless you've read Ansatsusha. Please enjoy.

Overview of the Ansatsusha Saga: Yeah right. Like I'm going to go through and explain everything that happened in the last saga. That could be a chapter in and of itself. So either go and read the saga for yourself, or deal with it and start this story. I don't care either way. Of course if you just got done reading it, it should still be fresh in your mind, right? Anywho, all you need to know is that a week has past between the end of Ansat. and the beginning of the Threes Saga. That should mean nothing to you unless you're done with Ansat. So go read it if you want to. Okay okay, I'll drop it and shut up. Anyway, on with the actual story!

--

"Yes, this is a tournament like the Dark Tournament, for lack of a better example. You all have been invited with personal invitations." Koenma said, brandishing two pieces of paper in the air above his desk. The gang had convened in Koenma's office: Yusuke, a newly healed Kuwabara, Kurama, Misaki and Hiei. Botan was also standing in on the conversation.

"However, this tournament is triples."

"Is what I heard about Misaki being allowed to enter the tournament true?" Botan questioned.

"Not that you could stop me if I wanted to go," she spoke up.

Koenma glared at Botan, "She has a personal invite as well as the others."

"Why wouldn't Misaki be allowed to enter?" Kuwabara asked.

"Long story." Misaki said.

"So are you entering two teams into this tournament?" Kurama asked.

Koenma consulted the invites, "Yes, the instructions on the invites are here. They also assure us that none of the teams from the same origin will meet each other until the finals, assuming both teams make it that far." Koenma stopped reading and got a troubled look on his face.

Misaki reached over and snatched an invitation from him. She actually grabbed the one with her name on it, "It seems that they've already picked out the teams for us. Or at least they've requested the pair they want on each team and say that they don't care who the third is. Hiei, it says that you and I are on a team."

"Then I suppose that makes me your third, if they're aren't any objections." Kurama said.

"And this one asks that Yusuke and Kuwabara be on a team." Koenma read off."I wonder why they only divided up pairs." Botan said as Misaki passed her the invite.

"They've done that for a long time."

"Well then who's our third?" Yusuke protested loudly.

"Yeah, what about us?" Kuwabara chimed in.

"I'll do that." Genkai stepped out of the shadows.

Misaki grinned, "You'd better make it to the finals old girl."

"And just who are you calling old Misaki? You've been around longer than I have." Genkai retorted.

"Well. I presume that no one has any objections?" Koenma looked around the room, "Then that's settled. Team Urameshi and Team Ansatsusha, you leave early tomorrow morning."

-very early the next morning-

Everyone shuffled into the limo-looking car except Misaki. Koenma was giving her last minute instructions as he wouldn't be able to attend until the semi-finals. He claimed he was to busy right now, but everyone knew that the invitations said the team's manager wasn't allowed to attend until then. Once Koenma was finished, Misaki waved to him as she got inside the car; she closed the door and the limo began moving. "Koenma says it'll take a while to get there." She said, but realized that she was speaking for no reason; they all had fallen back asleep once they hit a seat. Yusuke and Kuwabara where sprawled out; Hiei sat with his arms crossed a seat away from her, looking uncomfortable while leaning against the door, but nevertheless asleep; and Kurama was seated towards the front of the limo slumbering as well. Misaki shook her head and sat down by the other door, looking out the tinted window at the everlasting darkness.

The trip seemed to drag on forever. Misaki immersed herself in her thoughts, not asleep but deep in her own mind. Her eyes gazed blankly at the floor in front of her but even within herself she was restless.

_"Misaki!"_

She looked around abruptly at the shouted words.

"I thought you wouldn't ever hear." Hiei said crossly. He had at last slipped off into a light doze when the Jagan woke him up. It felt Misaki's edginess and jerked him from his slumber.

"Sorry."

"You're restless. Why?"

Misaki glanced at him from the corner of her eye before facing him, seeming to size him up. "There isn't a good reason I guess."

He continued staring at her. He had been woken up and he expected a direct answer.

"I suppose you aren't just going to let it drop, are you?"

Hiei sat back against the door, cross-legged. It was obvious he wasn't going to let it drop. "Besides. You can't sleep. This will pass time for you."

"That's you, always looking out for other people." Misaki rolled her eyes.

Hiei didn't answer.

Misaki sighed, "Alright. You look as if you have questions. Care to have them answered?"

He hesitated. Yes he did have questions for her.

"You explained what I assume to be the beginning of the world, or at least part of it."

"You assume correct."

"Yet you cleverly left yourself out of the narrative. Also, you didn't give a name to the physical embodiment of ice. And what was the Dark person talking about when he said that there is an eternal battle between you and him. And if I'm wrong, do tell."

"Okay, okay." Misaki held her hands up in defeat. "I hadn't thought anyone would notice my absence in the tale."

"Then you take us for fools."

Misaki opened her mouth to retort but she shut it, shaking her head. "Anyway. Ice was simply known as...well...Ice. Or—" She stopped, the words not making it past her lips. "And Dark, he..." Misaki realized that she didn't really want to answer these questions. Any questions but these.

"If you won't answer those, then put yourself in the narrative." Hiei ordered. "Explain what exactly 'Elements' are."

"I can do that much. Some elements are alive. Well, sort of." Misaki frowned, "This is harder to understand than I thought."

"Try me." Hiei crossed his arms.

Misaki collected her thoughts and started again. "An element, when it is sentient, exists in its true form. For example, before Eldred took on a human body, he was quite simply, air. Wind. He saw those who existed on the ground, walking and there was a desire that is born into all who become Elements to have a physical form. So he pulled his molecules together and took on the shape that you have seen him in. With such a body came the limitations of flesh and so a loss of power. Though since he was in every sense still air, he can control it. We believe that at one time there were others who exists before and could change back and forth between body and element, but no one has discovered the secret."

"We?"

Misaki ignored him and went on, "Once Eldred came into a body, he could sense other elements who were sentient and he sought them out. When Stefen, or at least Stefen as 'earth', saw Eldred, the desire to become human overwhelmed him and so he converted. The same thing happened with Aldeve, though both she and Coahtu saw Stefen and not Eldred. Then Aldeve found Ice who in turn found—" She cut off abruptly but the word was at the front of her mind and Hiei heard it as if she had spoke it out loud.

"You."

"...Yes...me."

Hiei caught another impression from her thoughts. "Brother. Ice was your brother. So what exactly does that make you?" He meant, 'what element did you come from?'.

"He isn't my brother. Not by blood. Elements don't have ties by blood. Though with the first Elements, the ties were with the one who helped an element change into human form."

"He was the one who was killed."

Misaki nodded after a moment. "Yes. Ice. And that is the reason why the Master of Fire died."

Hiei waited for her to continue, but she didn't speak. She began talking through a link in their minds. With the unspoken words, she could convey feelings that simple speech could not allow. Something that was fire or of fire had killed her brother, whom she was very close too, and so Misaki began hunting after all fire. Hiei could feel her satisfaction through the memories as she stood over dead beings, slain by her hand. All of them were of fire. And yet he also felt her anger. None of those who died was responsible for Ice's death. As she loomed over the Fire Master, Misaki could see in her eyes that she knew who had done it. But even on the brink of death, the Master of Fire kept her secret. Misaki slit the woman's throat in fury. Other memories Hiei became immersed in, rich remembrances.

Finally he came upon the 'sleep question' and learned that none of the Elements could sleep. While in a human body, they felt unbelievable vulnerable and thus did not fall asleep since that is their most vulnerable state. When waking, they are slow and defenseless and it takes them much longer to awake than an average being. But how did they know this if they never slept? Each of them had certain circumstances that had to occur before they would fall asleep. They had to feel perfectly safe. Each circumstance was different for each Element and there was no pattern between them. It was rare that an Element found their sleep because there had to be certain conditions, but it had been known to happen on occasion. In fact, Misaki had just recently fallen asleep, he learned, and he searched for her 'circumstance'.

The connection between them was broken so fast that Hiei's head slammed against the window behind him from whiplash. He grimaced and saw that Misaki was shaken up.

"I...I'm sorry. I...it..." A heavy fog had fallen over her mind.

The Jagan Eye was still reeling and Hiei shook his head a little. He realized that he had never been tied so closely with another telepath. "Don't apologize."

The fog lifted a little and Misaki saw that it was lighter outside.

Hiei still wanted to know about her sleep, in spite of himself. With just the Jagan as company, his mind seemed emptier. "...How did you manage to fall asleep?"

Misaki was staring out of the window into the distance and Hiei wasn't sure if she had heard him.

"As an element, without the body, there is an absolute protection. Nothing can harm because nothing usually knows a sentient being exists within the element. Thus there is no pain. No loss. Complete serenity. No limitations. No matter what the advantages of a body are, there is no feeling like that anywhere. And yet for some reason, that desire for the unknown, for a body that is imperfect and limited, is rooted deep within. It is a craving that only one thing can satisfy. If by those circumstances, whatever they may be, if there is that feeling, that perfect shield, perfect protection, then there is sleep. A sleep where dreams of that first form carry the sleeper away. For Stefen, he had journeyed into the center of the earth and he slept listening to the flow of molten lava about him. It is connected with sound, something that we are more attuned too. For Eldred, he slept on the back of a Nightmare as it flew through the air."

"And for you?"

Misaki hesitated, "A heartbeat."

"Then you should be sleeping all the time."

"Not just a heartbeat, otherwise that would be true..." She looked back out the window and Hiei knew he wouldn't get anything else out of her.

--

Misaki woke them all up when the limo stopped.

"We're here."

They all yawned and stretched as they got out of the car. The four followed Misaki as she walked for the entrance.

Two large oni stood on either side of the gateway. Misaki showed them the invitations and they nodded, opening the gate to let her pass. The rest of the group was farther back.

"Hey, did Misaki's hair color change?" Yusuke rubbed his eyes to look again.

Her hair no longer held the usual silver highlights.

"Who do we let know that we're here?" They heard her asking the yellow oni as they walked up.

"Enter your teams on down the hallway. They'll be expecting you."

"Thank you." Misaki bowed formally.

The oni grunted but seemed pleased.

"It's this way," she motioned for the boys to follow.

"And what other direction would it be, oh fearless leader?" Yusuke asked.

"Shut up."

They made their way down the hall until they reached a dead end with a booth in the wall. A bright girl popped up behind the glass, her purple cat ears on the top of her head flicking in excitement.

"The teams requested from Koenma, no?" She asked enthusiastically.

Kuwabara put a hand on his head as if he had a headache, "Waaay to cheery for this early in the morning."

"Like Botan." Yusuke added.

Misaki leaned on the counter. "Yeah, we're—"

"Just a minute please!" She said happily.

A metal sheet snapped down, covering the glass and Misaki moved her arm off the counter before it closed. "Oh great." She rubbed her forehead with her knuckles.

"What—" Kuwabara was interrupted by high pitched squealing noises.

A legion of tiny low class youkai materialized out of nowhere, surrounding them.

"What the heck are these things?" Yusuke fended off one that was poking his side with a pitchfork.

Misaki leaned her elbow back onto the counter, looking bored, "Entrance exam. This is annoying." She raised the other arm and pointed a finger to a red dot on the ceiling. The guys looked up. The dot was destroyed with the slightest spirit energy and Misaki rapped impatiently on the metal as the legion flickered away.

The metal rolled up and the cat-girl was standing sheepishly behind it.

"This is an invitation-only tournament, baka onna. Tell your employers that having any sort of trial for us to pass when we've been specially invited is the biggest waste of time I think I have ever heard of."

"You disposed of them rather unconventionally," She sniffed.

Misaki saw that arguing was going to get her no where so she slipped the invitations under a raised portion of the glass, "Register the teams invited from the Spirit Detective Agency."

The cat-girl took the invitations and looked them over, typing something onto a keyboard near her. She glanced up to see the six team members, typing something else. She held the invitations over a candle at her elbow, watching it burn a strange pink color. "To make sure they aren't fake." She explained. She checked the screen of the computer, "Since you're all from the same place, we have to assign the larger accommodations to keep you together. They're much nicer than the single ones." She put in quickly as she misinterpreted Misaki's expression to be one of disgust.

Misaki snorted, holding out her hand.

The cat-girl pulled two small rectangular slips of paper from underneath the desk and gave them to Misaki, "If you step into that transport on the floor, it will take you to your room door." She was in a hurry to be rid of them.

A faint circle appeared on the floor a few feet away, pulsating with a green light.

"Thank you." Misaki turned and stepped into it, the guys following her.

--

_There is an alternate title to this saga: The Saku Saga. There are many different meanings for 'Saku'. As a noun it can mean plan, scheme, device or fence. As a verb: spare, split, tear, blossom or flower. Just a little Japanese translation for you. Thanks for reading!_

_-lotsm_


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: There is a big long description of how their room looks. Since this is their room for the tournament and thus, the saga, it deserves a good description. As this is a tournament, there will be plenty of time for all of that fighting stuff so deal with a little of this for me. This didn't get posted yesterday because I was busy cleaning up my profile page and thus didn't finish the chapter. Anywho, enjoy.

O/C1: The gang travels to the site of the Tournament of Threes and after registering, are transported to their room.

--

They re-appeared in front of a door on the right side of a long hallway full of other doors looking just like it. Misaki turned the handle and the door swung inward. Lights came on as she flicked a switch. She promptly went about inspecting the room, leaving the guys standing by the door.

They were on tile and ten feet in front of them was a counter. To the left of that, against the wall, was another counter with cabinets above it and a sink in the middle. There was a microwave directly over the sink, a refrigerator on the side closest to them and a stove on the farther side.

The tile covered about a fourth of the side of the room and the rest was carpet-covered. A couch was in the middle of the carpet, facing the kitchenette. (The kitchenette was on the north wall, the couch was near the south wall, so the wall opposite the guys is the east wall and the wall the main door was in: the west wall.) There were doors on both the east and west walls, a little in front of the couch in placement.

Misaki went into each room. In the room across from the guys, two beds stood about fifteen feet apart with their heads on the south wall and a small bedside table between them. There was a window in the far wall and another door near it that led to the bathroom (the bathroom and door being parallel to the direction the beds were facing).

The other room was the similar except there was no window and the beds and bathroom were up against the opposite wall.

Kurama put his head back out the front door to look into the hall when Misaki disappeared into the other room. According to a law of how much space smoething took up, Misaki should have stepped into the room and out into the hall. Kurama walked over and looked inside the door Misaki went through to see her nodding approval at the room.

"Shouldn't this room be jutting out into the hallway?"

"This is a strange place and I'm not surprised that it doesn't." Misaki told him. She went back into the 'living room' where the couch was.

"Satisfied?" Hiei's tone was dripping with sarcasm.

"Quite."

"So what do we do now?" Kuwabara plopped onto the couch.

Misaki consulted the slips of paper the cat-girl had given her, "There's a Welcome Banquet tonight around seven and will end at nine so that all of the teams will get a chance to have a good night's rest."

"A Welcome Banquet?" Yusuke grimaced.

"It's customary. You get to check out the competition, but you usually won't learn anything except what they tell you and they always lie."

"You sound as if you have done this before." Kurama pointed out.

"Maybe." She grinned, "Deception is the key. Though since everyone knows it, it's not quite as effective. Unless you know what you're doing, you'll only learn things you can be for certain is not true."

"So are we going to lie too?" Kuwabara piped up.

"Yes, baka. You can't give anything away that would give anyone an edge." Hiei said.

"It's just a big twisted lie. Everyone expects everyone else to lie. And then other people will tell you things about the other teams like they know but they're lying. And since everyone morphs their appearance, you can't even be sure of what they look like. Yes is the answer to your question, Kuwabara. And I'm also going to be changing your appearances as well."

They all stared at her.

"So the appearance change is customary." Kurama said finally, a smile playing at his lips.

She shrugged, "Like I said. Everything tonight is going to be a lie, so that means many of the faces. You'll be able to see each other as normal, though, so it won't matter all that much. It's the other people we're trying to deceive."

"Hey, this could be fun," Yusuke rubbed his hands together.

"Make us look as cool as possible." Kuwabara added striking a manly pose.

Kurama shook his head and Hiei dropped an infamous, "Hn." Misaki just laughed.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Kuwabara. There is no way she could make me any more cool than I already am."

"I could make you a woman for starters." Misaki put in.

Yusuke gaped at her and Kuwabara clutched his stomach in pain he was laughing so hard.

"No gender changes, if you don't mind." Kurama spoke up.

"If you insist." Misaki stifled a laugh at the image of the four guys as girls. Hiei in a ponytail was too much and Kuwabara with a frilly pink dress on... Misaki doubled over.

Hiei's eyebrow jerked in annoyance as he caught a small glimpse of what she was picturing.

"How are we going to room?" Kurama asked Misaki.

"Well I—" She was interrupted by Yusuke who had gone in the room she and Kurama came out of.

"Hey, there's only two beds in here. Where's Genkai going to sleep?"

Kuwabara whacked Yusuke who fell to the floor, his legs twitching. An instant bump formed on his head.

"You numbskull, you didn't really think that she was going to stay in the same room as us, did you?!"

"Well I thought the girl at the desk said that each team would be rooming together," He answered, standing up and rubbing his head.

"She may have but that didn't mean the girls would be in the same room! Where's your sense of honor?!"

"Speaking of Genkai, where is she?" Kurama asked.

Everyone looked around for the short, smart-mouthed sensei who hadn't said a word. She wasn't around. They looked at Misaki.

"She told me she had some business that would keep her away. She'll be here tonight for the banquet and she'll make it to all of your matches but she can't really stay."

"Are there no pre-trials?" Kurama was thinking of the boat they rode over to the Dark Tournament.

"Besides that dumb stunt they pulled at check-in? Stupid people." Misaki shook her head, "It's invitation only, remember? The head honchos pick who they want to be here. They'll pull some sort of twist eventually but other than that, no."

"Who exactly are the 'head honchos' here? The Dark Tournament has humans donating or betting rather."

"This tournament predates the Dark Tourney by several thousand years, though it is where the Dark Tourney got its basic idea from. No body knows who's behind it, but every so often the invitations get sent out and the invitees flock to it."

"But you know who's behind it, don't you." Yusuke crossed his arms.

"Why wouldn't I? I'm probably the only person who has ever been here more than once. And I am the only person who is attending for a third time."

"But you aren't going to tell us."

"Not my place to tell you. You'll find out, if it comes to that." Was all she would say about it.

"Where is Misaki going to sleep?" Kuwabara said loudly.

Misaki sighed, "On the couch, Kuwabara. You and Yusuke can share a room and Kurama and Hiei will take the other."

"Yusuke and I will sleep out here; you can have the room to yourself." Kuwabara offered.

Yusuke wanted to protest his spur-of-the-moment proposal, but he kept quiet, waiting for Misaki's answer.

"No. I don't sleep anyway. I'll be fine."

"But you're a girl, you should have your own room!" He protested.

"I'm not taking one, now drop it!"

Before Kuwabara could argue some more Kurama changed the subject, "What do we do until tonight?"

"Anything you want. We got here kind of early—Koenma's paranoid like that—so we have plenty of time. You can wander around if you like, just don't get lost. I'm going to go and see if I can find out what teams are here and what not."

"Won't everyone lie to you about it?" Kuwabara wanted to know.

"The lying is saved for tonight. Trust me, I've been through all of this before, I know who to ask. So...uh...make yourselves comfortable! Food's in the cabinet, drinks are in the refrigerator. Whatever you want, it'll have. Don't worry about clothe for tonight, they'll provide them. Don't ask how they know your size: you don't really want to know. I'll be back after a while." Misaki opened the door and left.

"That was abrupt." Kurama commented.

"I call this room!" Kuwabara shouted as he went into the room he had inspected earlier.

"You mean we call this room. And don't shout, we're all right here," Yusuke went in after him to check it out.

"Baka ningens." Hiei muttered as he and Kurama went into the other room.

"I call this bed!" They heard Kuwabara shout.

"So much for not yelling," Kurama remarked, "Which bed do you want?"

Hiei plunked down on the first one and laid out.

"It's farther from the window."

"Your point?"

Kurama shrugged, "Just thought you might like to be closer to the window."

"Hn."

They spent the rest of the afternoon lolling about. Hiei stayed in the room the whole time. Kurama went out and around for a while. Kuwabara and Yusuke found out how to work the food cabinets and spent the time gorging themselves. They sacked out on the couch and fell asleep. Misaki came back about two hours before the banquet would start.

"Find anything out?" Kurama was standing by the counter, snacking.

"Not as much as I would have liked too." Misaki walked over to him, "Is everyone here?"

Kurama motioned at the two on the couch, "Hiei's in our room."

"Since you're right here, I'll do you first."

Kurama looked confused.

"I'm changing your appearance, remember?"

"Oh right."

Misaki pulled a stool out from under the bar counter and set it to one side. "Have a seat."

Kurama put down his spoon and sat. She looked thoughtfully into his intelligent green eyes from a second.

"What?" he asked, matching her gaze.

"Well, I haven't really thought about what I was going to change you to look like," she admitted.

He smiled, "Need inspiration?"

Misaki looked at the ceiling, "Actually what comes to mind is something of the feminine persuasion."

Kurama grimaced, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to find some other sort of inspiration."

"What are you going to do about it? I could change you and you'd never know the difference," she narrowed her eyes playfully.

"A, something you wouldn't like and B, as soon as other guys started hitting on me," he responded with equal good nature.

Misaki closed her eyes and held her hands up on either side of his face. "This'll take a while so get comfortable." Once she concentrated on it, the image came easily to her mind.

"Can you talk and work?"

"Sure. What do you have in mind?" Misaki kept her eyes closed.

"You told about Eldred and Aldeve and the others, but I did not hear you mention yourself within the history."

To quicken the passage of time for Kurama, Misaki talked, telling him almost exactly what she had told Hiei including what Hiei had gotten from her mind. Kurama's train of thought led him down the same path so he asked her about her sleeping condition, which was simply non-existent.

"The heart beat that causes you to sleep must be different than a normal heart beat. Otherwise you would be asleep constantly."

"Done." Misaki said, opening her eyes.

He didn't take all that long to morph. In retrospect. It took a little over a half hour to morph someone and when she lowered her arms they were a bit stiff.

He raised an eyebrow. Misaki didn't even need to read his mind to know what he wanted to know.

"Hey bums, get up!" she walked over to the couch and gave each body a swift kick.

"I don't wanna go to school today mom," Yusuke complained, pulling a couch pillow over his head.

"You're not going to school and I'm not your mother, thank heavens," Misaki grabbed his arms and pulled him up.

He blinked sleepily and yawned in her face.

"Wow, you need a breath mint," she waved the smell away from her face. One appeared out of nowhere and landed on Yusuke's yawning tongue.

His eyes widened when he closed his mouth and Misaki took the distraction as an opportunity to steer him over to the stool Kurama had occupied.

Kurama was standing next to it now, still half-expecting an answer from her.

As Yusuke sat down, Misaki put and hand on Kurama's shoulder and gave him a push towards his room, "Go get dressed. Your clothes are on your bed.

He left and Misaki faced Yusuke. He was more awake now and was making weird faces because of the mint.

"What is this thing?"

"It's dung from a spirit animal. Spit it out and I'll give you a new one to start over on. With it, you won't be able to fall asleep until the banquet is over.

"Great," he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Kuwabara go and change." She ordered, "You're next."

Kuwabara went into his and Yusuke's room and shut the door.

By the time Yusuke was done, Kuwabara had come back out and he and Yusuke switched places, Yusuke going and changing and Kuwabara sitting down. Kurama was changed by this time and Yusuke came out a bit later. All of them were dressed in clean, pressed suits.

"What about you Misaki? Won't everyone recognize you?" Yusuke asked.

"If I can change your appearance, surely I can change my own."

Kuwabara was sitting quietly still while Misaki adjusted his appearance.

She straightened his tie and then stepped back to look him over, cocking her head first one way, then the other before finally nodding her approval.

"What do I look like??" He wanted to know, glancing down and seeing that nothing was different.

"Here, take a look I suppose." She waved a hand and a full-length mirror materialized, floating inches off the floor.

Kuwabara stood, adjusting his coat. "But nothing's changed!" He protested. The burly red-head in the mirror was as distraught as he.

Misaki had gone over to adjust Yusuke's tie. She turned back.

"Sorry. That should do it." She nodded for him to look again.

Kuwabara's eyes bulged. Yusuke went over and began laughing.

The reflection was of a hulking yellow ogre complete with a mop of shaggy purple hair and a horn in the middle of his forehead.

"I wouldn't laugh to hard Yusuke." She warned. Kuwabara began to crack up as Yusuke's jaw dropped.

He had six spider legs growing out of his back, three on each side. There were several pairs of pale green eyes on his face, huge pointy ears that stuck out on the side and long black hair.

"And I thought I looked bad! Yusuke's a spider in a suit!" Kuwabara howled.

Kurama chuckled at both of their images, "I'm almost afraid to know what you've done to me."

"Almost?"

"Almost." He looked to see what his reflection would reveal, "But I swear, if you've made me female..." he trailed off. Yusuke's jaw dropped further than before and Kuwabara's laughter stopped.

The being in the mirror was almost Kurama. His suit was leaf green, his smooth hair done into a long thick braid down his back. A green vine was woven into it. His face was elfish, with high cheekbones and a pointy face, his ears being of the same.

"You're a little short for an elf, but I like it."

"Why the heck does he get to be the normal one?" Kuwabara demanded.

"Hey! I'm the one that looks like a five foot spider on steroids!"

"Oh be quiet," Misaki began herding them towards the door. There's an elevator down the hall. Now let me look at you." They obediently turned around. "If men realized how good they looked in suits, they'd wear them all the time." Was her conclusion.

"Does that mean—"

"No Kuwabara. I said men."

"HAHAHA she totally got you!" Yusuke crowed.

Kuwabara looked at the floor.

"I'm just kidding Kuwabara." She ruffled his hair, "You know I love you." She ushered them out the door.

His face brightened and he smiled, "Thanks Misaki."

"No love for me?" Yusuke asked.

Misaki thought about it, then shook her head, "Nope, not feeling the love."

"Hey wait, what about you?" Kuwabara turned around, "You can't go to this banquet without an escort."

"I'll be fine, go. It's starting now." She pushed him and Yusuke out the door and into the hall, watching them as the walked down and got on the elevator.

"Are you sure?"

Misaki stepped out into the hallway to let Kurama past. She stopped him to brush an invisible piece of lint from his shoulder and to straighten his tie, though he had it perfect.

"I'll be fine. I have adjustments to make." She scowled, never being one to look forward to formal events.

"You mean..."

"I haven't done myself yet."

"I'm sure every other woman will have an escort." He continued to argue.

"Yes well, I don't care.

Kurama could see he wasn't going to convince her otherwise.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Misaki smacked her head. Three flowers appeared in her outstretched hand. She picked the deep red rose and arranged it over Kurama's heart. "The white one is for Kuwabara." She handed it to him.

"White."

"It stands for honor. This blue one used to have red thorns. It's Yusuke's and stands for impossibilities." She gave it to him.

"I think you're ready for just about anything. Except for the lying. We all know what a bad liar you are."

Kurama let out a good-natured laugh. Misaki gave him a quick hug before sending him on.

"Kurama!! Hurry your green butt up, we can't keep the elevator waiting forever!" Yusuke stuck his head out into the hall.

"Don't be too late." Kurama told her as he trotted for the elevator.

"Only fashionably!" She responded.

He flashed a smile as he disappeared.

"Hey Yusuke!!" Misaki shouted, stepping further out into the hall.

"What!?" He stuck his head out again.

"Don't you dare drink anything 'till I get down there!!"

"Yeah yeah."

"That goes for Kuwabaka too! That stuff is potent, not made for humans! One sip and you'll be spilling about how you can't take a bath without a rubber ducky!"

"How the—" The elevator closed on him.

Misaki smirked and went back into the room.

She saw that the door to Hiei and Kurama's door was shut. She waltzed in unannounced. Hiei was sitting in the window and he looked at her angrily.

"You need to change." She pointed to the suit on the far bed which she assumed was his.

"Hn."

"If I leave will you change?"

"Hn."

Misaki rolled her eyes, leaving the room and shutting the doors behind her. She went to stand in front of the mirror, beginning her own feature alteration.

--

_-lotsm_


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Not much to say. Enjoy.

O/C2: After exploring the room, Misaki leaves, saying that she's going to go and snoop around. She returns, two hours before the Welcoming Banquet put on for all of the fighters in honor of the tournament. Misaki changes Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara's appearances seeing as how the main point of the banquet is to be deceiving. They leave with alter features in their suits, Misaki asks Hiei if he wouldn't mind changing into his. She leaves his and Kurama's room to change her appearance and after finishing she checks on Hiei...

--

"Hiei if you're changing, you'd better high-tail it into the bathroom." Misaki opened the door again.

Hiei sat on the window sill as if he hadn't moved, but he was dressed in the suit as she requested. And like the others, he looked pretty darn good. Misaki shook her head. _"Seriously. If they knew how good..." _

"Hiei, I need to change how you look." If he had heard her thoughts, he didn't react, simply nodding and following her out of the room without protest.

He sat down on the stool the other guys had occupied and leaned an elbow on the counted, looking bored.

Misaki hesitantly held her hands up. When Hiei didn't move, she closed her eyes and began working, passing the image in her head to how Hiei would appear to everyone else. She was so concentrating so hard that she didn't hear what he said to her.

_"If you make me into a yellow skinned purple haired freak I will kill you."_ He finally told her.

Misaki opened her eyes to see Hiei glaring at her.

"I'm not, but take off that silly bandana." She concentrated on his face, changing it in ways he couldn't see.

He didn't have to say anything; she knew he didn't want to. It slid onto the counter anyway and Misaki was glad she didn't have to do it herself.

Misaki almost lost her place when the Jagan Eye opened to watch her. It hummed pleasantly in her head, encouraging her work.

"Can you make it stop that, please? I know it would like to help but it isn't making this any easier." She frowned.

Hiei was taken by surprise for a moment, but he grimaced. The hum was loud enough in his head; he didn't know she could hear it too. He realized that the Jagan was transmitting its thoughts to her, though she was unable to understand what it was saying since she didn't know the language it spoke.

The hum faded into the background of Misaki's mind and she was able to quickly add the final touches.

"Okay. I'm done. And glad that I don't have to do that everyday." She lowered her hands and popped her neck, checking Hiei's new features to make sure it was seamless.

Hiei stepped over to the mirror. His reflection didn't have a suit on—his clothes similar to what he wore everyday, though these were more formal. He even had a katana at his side. The white star his hair formed just above his forehead was the same color as the rest of his hair and the Jagan had been smoothed over with skin.

"I don't look different."

"You're different enough." Misaki waved it off, "Same as me. At least people won't know who we are. That would be bad. The reason I changed Yusuke and Kuwabara so much is because they're human. They're still in the minority around here and it means trouble is more likely to find them."

Hiei looked at her reflection. The silver-highlights were gone from her hair, though they were also gone in real life. Her skin became extremely pale and her eyes upturned at the ends a little. Despite the fact that her appearance wasn't much different, her aura was. She radiated weakness and frailty to an almost overwhelming extent.

Even when Hiei glanced at Misaki, he could still feel the aura coming from the mirror before she waved it away.

"Impressive."

"Thank you. I try. I might be able to convince someone that I'll be easy to defeat."

"That will be their downfall."

"I need to change." She swept up a dress from the couch he hadn't noticed before and started for their room. "I am not going into Yusuke and Kuwabara's room." She said back to him after catching his disapproving thought.

Hiei admitted to himself that was a good reason.

"You can leave if you'd like. You're ready. Make sure Yusuke and Kuwabara haven't gotten drunk yet if you do." She shut the door.

Misaki didn't like the color of the dress, pink, nor the style, frilly and short. Though it was ironically an almost exact replica of what she had pictured Kuwabara in. If Misaki was going to have to endure the banquet, she was going to do it in something she wanted to wear. Misaki changed to dress into a long, black and elegant number—she literally changed it's appearance so she put on the black dress, not the pink one—piling her hair on top of her head with a couple of strands framing her face.

All of that only took a few minutes and then she was heading out the door. She didn't expect Hiei to wait for her and he didn't surprise her. As she closed the door behind her, she made it so that no one would be able to get in or out.

Misaki had an uneasy feeling that either Yusuke or Kuwabara or both hadn't taken her warning seriously and were heavily smashed. She took a second to calm herself down. They weren't completely stupid. She hoped.

A ways behind her, she heard a door open and close but she jumped a little what someone came up beside her.

"Such a woman should not be without an escort." A lyrical voice at her elbow said.

Misaki faced the newcomer as gracefully as she could. The man had a face to match his voice. He was at least a foot and a half taller than her and he was smiling a white-toothed, perfect smile. Misaki might have melted if she hadn't seen faces like that before and lived to tell about it. He had a wiry frame and was slender, his features etched and strong; he looked attractive in his blueish suit. Misaki noticed his color-coordination. His short hair was light blue and his eyes were dark blue. He was holding out an arm expectantly and when Misaki didn't take it, he put her hand there anyway and walked for the elevator.

"So can I ask you your name or will you just lie to me?" he wanted to know.

"Depends. What can I look forward to from you?"

He seemed sincere enough but Misaki didn't want to use telepathic power to find out. She didn't know if he was a telepath himself. Of course seeing as how youkai had a bad habit of knowing her name, Misaki wasn't intending to reveal it to anyone.

"Tayl." She supplied.

"Ike."

"Ike." Misaki repeated. The elevator was a lot further than she thought it was.

"Tayl," He said back, smiling down at her, "You really shouldn't be without an escort."

"Well I—"

"It isn't proper for a lady such as yourself."

"It's not—"

"It just isn't done, you see."

"I know—"

"Oh if you insist, I'd be glad to."

Misaki frowned. _"Wait...how does that work?"_

They reached the elevator and were waiting for it when Hiei walked up.

Misaki quickly dislodged herself from Ike and switched to Hiei. "Sorry to have kept you waiting."

The elevator door opened and Ike stepped it. "I see...you have an escort. Wonderful. Will I have the pleasure of speaking to you later?"

_"Not if I can help it no." _She thought. "Perhaps." was her evasive reply. Misaki saw the disappointment in Ike's face as the doors slid closed. "That was perfect timing." She told Hiei.

"Hn." He unlinked his arm from hers, stepping away, and pressing the button for another elevator. "Don't fraternize with the enemy."

"I wouldn't if I could help it. He sort of just...well I don't really know what happened exactly." Misaki admitted.

Neither spoke. The doors opened again and they got in. As the elevator descended, Misaki rubbed a temple.

"Keep your guard up. There's a telepath." Misaki enveloped the other three's minds with a wall to keep everyone out.

Hiei didn't respond, but he put up barriers.

The elevator dinged twice as it stopped on the correct floor.

"Since you're my escort," Misaki rolled her eyes and placed a hand in the crook of his elbow. "If we go step into the room like we don't know each other, that'll grab their attention. More inconspicuous this way." She established an undetectable telepathic link between them with his permission before the doors opened. It would allow them to fairly easily converse unnoticed all night. They stepped off of the elevator and into the gloom.

It wasn't actually a gloom, but there was an overcast, heavy feeling to the whole room, like walking into a fog.

Hiei related the feeling to the Waters of Amureo and his supposition was affirmed by Misaki through their link.

Misaki slipped her hand away, silently thanking him—no one even glanced up when they arrived and so she could disappear unnoticed into the crowd.

_"What am I supposed to do?" _He asked dryly.

_"Go to the bar," _She suggested, _"Get a drink, tell some lies. I'm going to try and find out as much as I can. Or not, whichever way you want to see it."_

Hiei made his way to the bar, ordering a house special on the rocks though he just stared at the glass absently when it was sat in front of him. Misaki was passing various bits and pieces of information to him that she decided were actually true. This one was an element user; that one could channel energy into the staffs he used to fight. As far as Hiei could tell, the only competition would be Yusuke, Kuwabara and Genkai. That would make it easy.

He sat listening as a pink-haired woman sat next to him, ordering something he didn't hear.

--

"Ah, Tayl. I had hoped to find you alone." Ike gracefully walked over to her with two slim goblets of what could have been champagne. He held them out for her to choose from and she took one. He sipped the other, surveying the crowd. If Misaki was going to stand him, she would need a drink.

It wasn't champagne; it was the strong stuff she had warned Yusuke and Kuwabara about. She scrutinized Ike as he drank it. Either he was a youkai or an incredibly strong human. She wasn't sure.

--

Hiei hoped it was the former. Weak youkai were cocky and easy to deal with.

"Hellooo pretty lady."

Hiei winced, recognizing Kuwabara's voice. He looked up to see Kuwabara slip into the seat next to the pink-haired woman.

She snorted into her glass, "Kuwabara? You look like an idiot."

Kuwabara shifted his eyes around the room, "How do you know my real name?"

"Baka ogre, where's spider-boy?" Hiei asked suddenly.

"Oh he's around some...dude, Hiei!" Kuwabara said a little louder than Hiei would've liked.

"Hiei?" The woman's eyes narrowed as she turned to him, but then she shrugged, "I guess you look alright."

Hiei glanced around to see if anyone was listening.

She threw-back her shot of whatever it was and saw him looking around, "No one's paying any attention."

"Genny!" A familiar voice said.

_"Wait...Genny?" _Hiei took a second look at the woman.

"...Genkai??" Kuwabara's jaw dropped.

"Yup." Misaki walked over.

Yusuke came up, "Wow grandma, lookin' good!"

"Which is more than what I could say for you, smart mouth."

"This is turning into a regular get together." Hiei said annoyed. _"What happened with Ike?" _Hiei had lost focus when Kuwabara came over.

_"Tell you later." _Misaki responded.

"We're just missing vine-man." Yusuke noticed, "Know where he is?"

"Probably in a corner somewhere trying to look inconspicuous." Misaki made a guess.

"And failing." The young Genkai added wryly.

_"I've gotten hints of one or two that could make the tournament worth it." _Misaki glanced at Hiei before melting back into the crowd.

Hiei tried to concentrate on their link but the three next to him were more than a little distracting so he gave up, assuming that if there was anything important he needed to know, Misaki would somehow get it through to him.

--

Misaki made her way to a small table near a corner. Just beside it was a larger table full of people talking about exactly what she wanted to hear.

She didn't get to listen for very long because someone came up to her.

"Seat taken?"

"No," she absently replied, trying to catch more of the other conversation. She could feel eyes studying her so she pulled her attention to focus on who had sat across from her.

He was nice-looking, though Misaki knew one would be hard-pressed to find an unattractive man in the place.

"You must be Tayl."

Misaki raised an eyebrow.

"Ike told me."

"Ah." Misaki tried not to grimace, "You must be on the same team."

He nodded.

"So who's your third?"

"A man by the name of Nicolai."

"And you would be...?"

"Soren."

"Soren. Nice to meet you, Soren." Despite Ike's strange way of becoming Misaki's escort—which had annoyed her—she took an immediate liking to his teammate who seemed much more reserved.

"So what can you tell me about your team Soren?" It was worth a shot.

Soren chuckled, "You mean what will I tell you that's true."

"Yes, I suppose that is what I actually meant." She admitted.

"Well," He took a breath, "Ike is smooth and trustworthy. Nicolai is practical and at the same time he's a fop."

Misaki sat back in her chair, "And what about yourself?"

"Me?" Soren smiled, "I'm as unpredictable as the wind."

"So should I be frightened of you?" Her voice was serious but her eyes danced.

"Someone like you?" He shook his head, "No. And what about you? Anything you care to tell me?"

"Just a fire, a fox and what you see before you."

"Really. An unfair trade. You have told me much more than I told you."

"I'm afraid, my dear Soren, that you informed me of quite enough."

"How so?"

"I know what you all are, and you know what we are."

"And how did you manage to gather such a thing from what I said?"

"Well," Misaki half-closed her eyes as if in deep concentration, "Your description of Ike sells him as a water or ice."

Soren rested his elbows on the table, intrigued.

"This Nicolai is an earth. And lastly, you. You are a wind, as if your flowing green and black robes didn't give that away. Your thoughts and movements are fleeting as a result, making them hard to follow in a battle." _"And even when I'm sitting across from you." _Misaki thought to herself. She opened her eyes to see Soren pleased with her answers.

"You astound me with your deductions," He leaned forward, "But how do you know I'm not lying?"

She leaned forward too as if they were sharing a great secret, "You affirmed it by the look in your eyes." She leaned back again, satisfied with herself.

"Extraordinary." He sat back as well, resting the tips of his fingers together and creating a steeple out of them, "But I'm afraid you haven't said much about yourself."

"Do I need too?" She countered as if she'd already revealed everything.

"Hm. Perhaps not. You seem to posses a decent intellect. This would give you a nice advantage on the field."

"Don't be so modest."

Soren looked discreetly quizzical.

"You deliberately worded your descriptions in such a way as to see if I could glean what I did from them. Rather petty way of figuring out if I had a shred of intelligence within me, if I do say so myself."

He let out a laugh at Misaki's indignant expression, "You seem to have found me out. It would be an honor if you would allow me to try and keep up with you in a match."

"Don't be so modest." Misaki said again, reaching over and patting him a bit condescendingly on the cheek. She stood, "I would never be able to go up against your dizzying intellect," and then walked off.

Soren stayed at the table for a while longer, watching her as she went. "I'm afraid there is more to her than meets the eye." He said out loud to himself. "Anyone who takes her frailty seriously will get more than they bargained for." He left the table.

--

_The name 'Tayl' is actually pronounced just like the word 'tale' or 'tail'. No I wasn't really thinking of Majora's Mask when I thought of it. _

_-lotsm_


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: It's really sad when you yell at Microsoft Word because it has bad grammar. Yes, I am that weird: I yell at computers and correct their English.

O/C3: Misaki meets a man named Ike, one of the fighters in the tournament. The Banquet begins. Misaki moves around trying to find out whatever she can. Hiei sits at the bar, and is soon joined by Genkai, Kuwabara, Yusuke and then Misaki. But Misaki goes back into the crowd, meeting up with Soren, another member of Ike's team. She leaves him...

--

Misaki tried to make her way back to the bar. It was as if the population of the room had quadrupled.

"They could have given us a bigger room." She mumbled.

"Ah! Tayl! Ike did not speak of your beauty!"

She cringed, but kept plunging through the crowd, acting as though she didn't hear him.

"Hark, fair young maiden," someone caught her arm, "Wither thou goest?"

"If you don't let go of me I will blast you into oblivion so fast you won't know you're there until after you see the white light." Being called 'fair maiden' was just a little more than Misaki could handle.

Nicolai let go of her arm in surprise of her retort. Misaki took the opportunity to plunge back through the people, putting a good bit of distance between him and her.

"It seems you must hurry on your way," The ivory-haired man called after her, wisely choosing not to take pursuit, "We shall meet again."

Misaki breathed a sigh of relief. At least Ike seemed a decent person. The impression that she received from Soren's mind when he spoke of Nicolai was that of a womanizer. It was easier to get away from him than she had thought but she knew it wasn't the last she had seen of him. Misaki turned to the left, running right into someone.

She looked up, thankful that she had only run into one person the whole night. The banquet was entirely too packed for her tastes. Though she had to admit it did make it easier to not be found.

The man had long blonde, straight hair that cascaded down his back and his dark eyes immediately made Misaki think of a hawk, piercing through all disguise as he peered down at her.

"You seem familiar young one...Have we met?"

He was the second person in less than two minutes to refer to her age. _"Why does everyone think they're so much older than me?! I completely outdate them!" _She was about to tell the newcomer off when a wave of dizziness hit her. She swayed and felt a strong hand hold her up.

"What is wrong? Are you alright?" his deep voice asked, his expression changing rapidly from inquisitive to concerned.

"I...I'll be fine..." Which wasn't true at the moment. Her vision began to pull in and she fought the darkness. She thought maybe it was the strain of keeping everyone's mind's covered plus making sure they didn't flicker back into their normal form...but she wasn't sure.

"There is a table nearby, would you like to sit down?"

Misaki grabbed the tensed forearm of the hand holding her as he started to move them towards it.

"No...wait..."

He stood good-naturedly, waiting for the moment to pass.

"Thank you." Misaki's eyes began to clear and she looked up at the tower of steadiness she was grasping.

She could see that his emotions were well-hidden, his face appearing flat and unconcerned with the world around him. Misaki caught the distress as it disappeared, replaced with a hint of a relieved smile.

"No problem." He slowly released her, watching to make sure she was truly fine.

Misaki also let go and stood straighter, though it seemed that lately no matter how tall she stood, she was constantly shorter than those around her. She thought ruefully of Ike, Soren and Nicolai.

"Might I know the name of my stronghold?" She smiled genuinely.

The smile she saw before played at his lips as he opened his mouth to answer.

"Dartanianne! There you are!" Another man, almost identical to the first, came up and clapped him on one of his broad shoulders.

At first glance, Misaki thought she was seeing double, but upon a closer inspection, she realized the second was more slender than Dartanianne. They both had the same flowing blond hair and white robes trimmed with intricate gold embroidery but this new man was a lighter in both fame and voice—of course that wasn't hard, Dartanianne was well-built.

"Who is this?" the man noticed Misaki for the first time, "Dartanianne, picking up the ladies now are we?"

Misaki noticed the annoyance flit over Dartanianne's face but he said nothing, deciding to leave the situation.

"Please excuse my compatriot's attitude. He's the strong silent type, quiet and mysterious. I, on the other hand, am an open book." The look he gave her and the suggestiveness of his words immediately made Misaki want to reach up and scalp his blonde hair from his head.

"I never judge a book by its cover, but I think I can make an exception with you." Misaki remarked primly.

"You embody a dangerous combination for a woman." He flashed his pearly whites.

"A statement you should think upon in all seriousness." This guy was quickly wearing on Misaki's nerves. Not just his personality but the fact that he and Dartanianne seemed so familiar to her but she couldn't place them.

A slight breeze moved the air and Misaki saw the white wings that came from his back.

Suddenly, she remembered. This man was dangerous, despite all appearances. But she couldn't just run away. It wasn't that simple...adding to the fact that there were a good many people surrounding them, not allowing for a quick escape.

His gaze grew more scrutinizing, "Have we met before? You are oh so familiar to me. Tell me...what is your name?"

Misaki was compelled to tell him who she was. "T...Tayl." She managed to say.

"Tayl...hm. That doesn't ring a bell." He shrugged, "I am Facelle." He studied her again.

Misaki had a hard time keeping her face neutral. Just being around him nearly forced a person to tell him everything he wished to know. His hand stroked her arm but she couldn't even flinch away.

He came closer, fingers moving to her cheek, her gaze locking with his own.

When he noticed her eye color, his gently masked smile turned into one of triumph.

_"My eyes! My hair is different but my eyes are the same!" _She thought frantically.

"Your name isn't Tayl. Tell me what it really is," he purred seductively, his velvety voice almost smoothing a true response from her. He went on. "But I think I already know. It's Misaki isn't it?" His lips whispered the words into her ear.

She was rooted to the ground, held by something ancient in its own right, a race whose powers dated back thousands of years. Misaki knew that his appearance was only a mask, much like hers. She fought to move, to do something, but to no avail. She was trapped. Her mouth opened even as she struggled to close it, not quite hearing the voice call out to her, as if it came from far away.

Facelle's face became chiseled with anger at being distracted but he didn't dare strike out, not yet, not in this room with all of the people around.

"There you are. I was afraid I had lost you for good." Part of a red braid brushed her face as Kurama turned to excuse them from Facelle.

"Thank you for keeping her company. There is such a large crowd and I wasn't sure where she had been swept off to. Please excuse us."

Visibly reluctant to loose such a fine prize, Facelle nodded, letting this prey go freely.

Kurama steered Misaki away and as the distance from Facelle increased, his hold on her decreased.

_"Misaki, what's the matter?" _She heard Hiei's question brush her mind. Even across the room, through their connection he had noticed the change in her somehow.

_"I'm fine." _She pulled away from the link, reducing it to a mere wisp in her mind. If he continued questioning her, she couldn't hear it.

Misaki didn't say anything out loud, allowing herself to be taken in whichever direction Kurama led.

"He had some sort of control over you." Kurama said.

She nodded, noticing they had stopped in a corner which, surprisingly, no one had claimed.

"Do you need something to drink?" He put a hand under her chin and tipped her face up so that it would look at his. He was frowning at her.

"N...no...thanks. Just stand there, would you?" The effect of Facelle still hung in the air around her.

Kurama could see she was shaken up so when she rested her ear on his chest, he merely held her.

Misaki closed her eyes, finding the strange beat of his youkai heart and immediately becoming calm.

"Excuse me, miss."

Misaki heaved a sigh before pulling away to see who it was. Kurama continued to hover next to her, his worry radiating from him.

"Yes?"

"I was told to give you this message." It was a nondescript youkai holding out a slip of paper to her.

"Thank you." She took it to read.

"Not at all, miss." The youkai turned and left.

Misaki groaned.

"What's wrong?" He scanned the note.

"Baka people in charge need to see me. I gotta go."

"Alright. Be safe."

She gave him a faint smile before leaving.

Kurama got lost in thought for a moment. Who was the man and how could he hold such a power over anyone? He was obviously a combatant and while he was sure to prove a worthy opponent, Kurama was uneasy.

By the time he was ready to move away, several someones blocked his path.

"Where are you off to?"

"Why not stick around for a while?"

A lot of females had come out of nowhere and he was surrounded, back to the corner. He sighed, knowing that as always he would have to wait them out. He hoped it wouldn't take too long.

--

"Baka youkai with the baka note and the baka people in charge with their baka brackets." Misaki took a deep breath. She was heading back to the corner where she'd left Kurama. She had a cynical feeling that he was still there, though probably against his will.

She cleared part of the crowd and smiled at seeing Kurama trapped in the corner. He deserved it really. It was his fault for looking so good. Misaki knew that the tramps keeping him there wouldn't leave easily. There was one thing that might make them go away. Misaki's smile turned a little evil.

There was a small space between a couple of them and Misaki slipped through. Kurama looked strikingly similar to an all-to-serene mouse cornered by a group of alley cats who had found their next meal.

"There is no way!"

"I am so serious! Not even kidding!"

"I don't believe it."

All of the females were talking at once about something or other.

None of them were completely up to Kurama, there was a small radius around him and Misaki stepped right in front of him.

They all stopped talking, staring at the impudent woman who would dare get that close to him.

Misaki kissed him.

She could feel the anger, jealousy, and indignation seethe from all of the other women. Breaking it off and seeing Kurama's expression, Misaki tried not to laugh at the females petty feelings. She dropped her grin and turned her head to cast a possessive look at the group who understood it all to well.

Misaki felt Kurama put an arm around her, using the other hand to turn her face back towards him. Those who had gathered tensed up, as if one move would seal their fates.

He kissed her back.

This time it lasted longer and when they came apart, there was no one around.

"Smooth." He breathed into her ear.

"I try."

"Thanks."

"I never thought a Kurama wouldn't be able to handle the ladies."

"Heh." He drew back and Misaki tilted her head, listening to something.

"Come on. They'll be closing down soon and I'd prefer to leave before there is a rush." She grabbed Kurama's hand and pulled him after her.

"What did the tournament want?"

The room was so noisy that Misaki just shook her head, "I'll tell you later."

They arrived at the bar without further incident. Yusuke, Kuwabara and Genkai weren't there anymore but Hiei sat in the same seat. There were two girls on either side of him and Misaki recognized them as two of those who had been around Kurama minutes before. Misaki wondered how they managed to home in on Hiei so fast.

"Seems like I'm not the only one."

"Be nice." Misaki murmured, walked forward.

Kurama stayed where he was, watching Misaki walk up behind Hiei. She tapped his shoulder and Kurama caught a fleeting look of knowing he was rescued pass over the fire youkai's face as he stood up.

The girls were aware of where they had seen Misaki before and they let Hiei go without protest.

Hiei thanked her shortly within their link but Misaki could feel his relief.

He followed her back to Kurama and they all three made their way to the elevator they used before.

--

The elevator opened and the trio stepped out onto their floor, beginning to walk back to the room.

"So we don't have to fight tomorrow in round one because we're one of the four seeded teams. Yusuke, Genkai and Kuwabara's fight is the last one of the day." Misaki summed up the conversation, "I plan on leaving early to watch all of the competition for the day." She added.

"How early does the tournament start?" Kurama wanted to know.

"The first matches are at five a.m. One of those will determine who we fight tomorrow."

"Matches?"

"There will be more than one match going on at a time. This is a fairly good-sized tournament. The arena will be divided into four so that all four brackets can fight at the same time."

"And it always starts early in the morning." He finished.

Misaki shrugged, "You never know what can happen. It'll probably last all day."

They came to the room and Misaki opened the door. The lights were out as they filed in and Misaki flipped the switch.

Kuwabara and Yusuke were sprawled out on the floor halfway to their bedroom door. Genkai, now reverted to her normal self, sat waiting on the couch, rising when they entered.

"What did you do to them, Genkai?" Misaki asked accusingly.

"I did nothing. They can't hold youkai liquor. I'll admit it's potent stuff, but even I can take more than two drinks and I'm old." She brushed past them for the door. "Oh and nice lock on the door. I almost couldn't beak it. Goodnight." She shut the door behind her.

Misaki grumbled something inaudible, "I'm using your bathroom to change. And do something about them, will you?" She stepped over Kuwabara and headed towards Kurama and Hiei's room.

"Hn. I say leave them there. Bakas." Hiei went into their room as well.

Kurama sighed.

--

"Hiei, I'm coming out."

"Hn."

Misaki opened the door.

Hiei sat in the window sill, looking out. He must have been in the middle of changing. While he wore his usual pants, the button up shirt of the suit was open and untucked.

Misaki shook her head as she walked out. "Goodnight Hiei."

He didn't answer.

"Goodnight Hiei!" She said again, louder.

"'Night." He grunted.

Misaki rolled her eyes as she shut the door behind her. Kurama had managed to get the humans coherent enough to stumble into their room so Misaki met Kurama as she shut the door. She opened it again, letting him pass and they exchanged a smile before Misaki closed the door again.

She grabbed a blanket from under the couch and moved all of the pillows except one to the opposite end.

Misaki could tell that Yusuke and Kuwabara were knocked out. She curled up underneath the blanket on the other end of the couch were the pillows weren't.

Knowing sleep wouldn't come to her, and yet still taxed—the dizziness had managed that—Misaki took all of her weariness and forced it onto the youkai.

They both fought against it though Kurama gave in as his head hit the pillow. Hiei put up more of a fight but he couldn't keep his eyes open, falling asleep in the window sill.

Satisfied, Misaki snuggled down to wait for morning.

--

_Yeah yeah. I know...but everything that happens has to happen because other things happen later. Was that confusing or was that confusing? Given the choices...probably confusing, no?_

_The name 'Dartanianne' is pronounced 'Dar-TAN-yun'. I have no idea why I'm putting pronunciations on here. I just really like the name so I guess I like to put how it's supposed to sound. Ike and Soren are based off of their respective counterparts on Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance but anyone who's actually played the game will find that they are in fact quite different from those characters, being only similar in appearance._

_-lotsm_


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Has anyone else noticed that you can't breath and take a drink at the same time? I guess I never knew that the esophagus was used for breathing and eating/drinking. ...Remember what I said last time? It's true, I'm weird...maybe I should stop typing late at night... Anywho, like I said, chapters will come out when I finish them and this one is the same. I haven't been in front of the computer in a couple of days so this one wasn't out as punctually as the others have been.

O/C4: Misaki meets Nicolai, who makes up one team in the tournament with Ike and Soren. She also meets Dartanianne and Facelle, two members of another team. Facelle has a mysterious power which almost forces Misaki to tell him who she really it, though he figures it out anyway. Kurama saves her and later they go and get Hiei, leaving the banquet (since it is almost over anyway). Genkai is back at their rooms, and Yusuke and Kuwabara are passed out on the floor, drunk. Kurama gets them into their room. Misaki forces all of her weariness onto the two youkai, causing them to go to sleep. Then she settles down on the couch to wait for morning.

--

The arena was set up in a similar fashion to the first rounds of the Dark Tournament, though this tournament's coliseum had a roof. The Tournament of Threes predated the Dark Tournament by numerous years and had been calling for the best in the land for a long time. This year, Misaki was disappointed.

While it took her complete attention, Misaki could keep tabs on all four matches at once. This was one instance in which she desperately wished she couldn't. Never had she seen so much wasted space in all of her life.

"Not much of a spectacle, huh?"

Misaki looked over to see Ike standing over her with his hands in his pockets, watching the fights. He wore jeans and a blue and white striped, long-sleeved shirt with a round collar. He looked quite human.

"I'll say." Misaki said disgustingly. She had decided last night that Ike wasn't so bad. He had certainly gotten her with the whole escort thing and she held a good deal of respect for someone who could do that.

He sat down by her on the huge concrete stairs that made up the coliseum's seating.

"You know, for a youkai, you look very human."

He looked at her funny, "What makes you say that?"

"Well most youkai are pretty...odd in appearance. You know, like green skin or something."

He laughed, "Really. I suppose I'll take it as a compliment them." He looked her up and down, "You don't look youkai to me either."

"Because I'm not." She cut in.

"Well you certainly aren't human. Though I'll admit I didn't recognize you last night, Misaki."

She stared at him and he chuckled.

"I guess those eyes should have tipped me off, but I knew you for sure as soon as I saw your hair." He reached over and tugged playfully at it.

Misaki grimaced, though not because of him pulling it. When she had reverted to her normal form last night, she had forgotten to leave her hair fully black; the silver-highlights were shining through. Misaki glanced around, thankful that there wasn't anyone sitting nearby, and filled in the highlights. She didn't want the whole world knowing she was in the tournament. That could create problems.

Ike understood this and didn't say anything when her hair was suddenly all-black again.

"Hi Misaki, what's up?" Soren sat down on her other side. He had changed clothes, sporting an outfit almost identical to Ike's save that the shirt was green and black striped. His just-past shoulder length hair was held in place with a dark ribbon at the base of his neck.

"Apparently the whole world knows I'm here anyway." Misaki said crossly.

"Apparently." Ike grinned.

"What? What did I do?" Soren was confused.

"Out little Miss Misaki here thought she was fooling everyone with her 'weak and frail' act."

"Oh." Soren nodded.

"Hey! I am not little!" Misaki protested.

"Are too, squirt." Ike patted her head. She ducked away and Soren started to laugh.

"Look, just because you're unbelievably tall doesn't mean the rest of us have to be."

"Ooo," Soren kept laughing, "She got you!"

Misaki poked a finger into Soren's chest, "And you, mister smarty-pants, have no right to be laughing when the statement applies to you too!"

It was Ike's turn to laugh at Soren's dumbfounded face, "She's feisty isn't she?" He talked over her head.

"Hey! Stop that!"

"Yeah, kind of makes you wonder how anyone puts up with her." Soren teased.

Misaki folded her arms over one another and ignored them for a minute, resuming her monitor of the matches.

Soren and Ike held in their laughter, masking their smiles with a hand.

"I could easily blow the two of you into oblivion."

"I wouldn't doubt it." Ike managed, stifling another laugh.

Without taking her gaze from the arena, Misaki grabbed Ike's chin in one hand, forcing his face down to her level and gathering energy into that hand.

Soren scooted away, wide-eyed, but Ike's expression didn't change.

"You're still making fun of me!" Misaki glared over at him.

"I didn't say a word!" His eyes had laughter in them.

Misaki released him, got up, and moved a ways over and down before sitting again. She didn't look behind her and began watching the fights again, not noticing them sit on either side of her at first.

"Don't you two have a match to get ready for or something?" She sounded annoyed.

"Nope. We're one of the seeded teams. Youself?" Ike asked.

"What rank?"

"We...hey you didn't answer my question!"

"Yeah yeah we're seeded too." She waved a hand at him which he swatted away, "What rank?"

"Uh...second I think. Is that right?" He looked over her head at Soren who was stretched out, his body easily spanning two of the giant seats—his legs resting on the step below them—with his arms spread out to either side, one behind Misaki.

"Yup." was the answer from Soren.

"Not bad." Misaki nodded approval, "Of course my team is ranked first. It's a common practice though. If any person on the team is a returning combatant, the team is automatically ranked first. Doesn't happen often." _"In fact, it's only happened once before." _Misaki thought to herself.

"Of course." Ike's grin came back.

"You're making fun of me again." She warned.

"I am not! Soren did I say anything that made fun of her?"

Soren looked seriously at them both, "No. I didn't hear anything." But the way his eyes seemed to dance with mirth gave him away.

Misaki scoffed and got up again. This time Ike and Soren each grabbed an arm, stopping her.

"Don't move again," Ike pleaded.

"We're just going to keep following you around anyway." Soren added.

Misaki rolled her eyes and sat back down. They still didn't let go of her arms.

"I'm staying, okay?"

They slowly let go as if a sudden move would invoke her to further wrath. She kept a good poker face but accidentally let a hint of a smile raise the corner of her mouth. She was sure neither of them had caught it; she was half-right.

"You led us on!" Soren exclaimed indignantly.

Misaki acted as though he hadn't said a word, her gaze fixed intently on the arena below them.

"What do you mean?" Ike wanted to know.

"She wasn't mad! And she knew exactly what we would do!"

"Oh really?" Ike's eyes narrowed.

A sudden realization hit Soren and he leaned away from Misaki, "You...you're a telepath, aren't you?"

Ike's eyes widened and he waited for a yay or nay from her.

_"-sigh- I've been found out." _Her words echoed within their heads.

"I'd heard rumors that you were, but never took the time to believe them." Soren was amazed. He leaned closer, "So how strong are you? Can you just read emotions? Or what is at the front of the mind? Or can you actually read thoughts?" He couldn't help but be inquisitive about the prospects.

"Slow down." Misaki smiled at him, "I can basically do all of what you said. And by examining your thought processes, I am able to foresee what you will do next. For example, as soon as Ike realizes what all of that means, he's going to blush. Deeply."

Soren watched as Ike's face began to turn a brick red color.

"Wow! That is cool."

"That's what you think." Ike mumbled. "I could have gone without knowing that she could read my mind."

"Oh relax Ike," Misaki consoled him, "You're male. You and Soren can't really help it."

Soren blushed deeper than Ike had.

She grinned, "If you trained, both of you could easily put up barriers to prevent weaker attempts."

"Could you train us?" Ike wanted to know.

"Depends on how good a student you are."

"Me? What about him?"

"He's smart enough to do fine. It's you I'm worried about." Misaki saw that Soren was moping. "Aw Soren." She gave him a hug that he half-heartedly returned, "I'm sorry. There aren't many true full-blown telepaths who could keep up continuous mental barriers all of the time. So it means I'm walking around catching glimpses of people's minds all the time."

"Can't you block it out?" His thirst for knowledge outranked his embarrassment.

"Never completely. I've gotten to where I hardly notice most things. But some emotions and thoughts are so strong that I can't help but feel them." Misaki grimaced as she went back to watching the matches. "Well that solves that problem."

"What problem is solved?" Ike asked her.

"I came here wanted to know who my team was going to fight tomorrow and I just found out."

"The match isn't over..." He and Soren looked at the part of the arena she pointed at.

"It's as good as over. The little yellow guy is tired and his attacks are getting sloppier."

"So the chick he's facing is going to win." Soren finished for her.

"Actually, no. He's hiding a dagger up his sleeve. He's planning on stabbing her arm but she's going to punch his face with that arm. He'll be put off balance and accidentally stab her leg, probably tearing a lot of important stuff. Stuff she needs to be able to walk. She won't be able to recover fast enough and he'll finish her off."

All of them watched as events began to unfold far beneath their feet.

In the yellow guy's hand appeared a knife. Trying to mask his difficulty with breathing, he shifted its weight in his hand, and then dashed forward, holding it in a position from where he could easily sink the knife into the female youkai's arm. He hoped that it would paralyze her long enough that he would be able to think of some way of winning.

They both ran for each other, but as the female came closer, she pulled back her fist; the fist from the arm he planned on stabbing. They were too close for him to change anything and he barely had time to dodge to the right. The female stepped on his foot, meaning to stop him in his tracks so that she could land her punch. But he pulled his foot out from under hers, tripping forward and making her fall to the side. He put his hands underneath him to catch the impact of the ground. The hand holding the knife slid into the female's thigh as he came down and stuck in her leg. He could feel the skin, muscles, and tendons, tearing under his weight. Then the knife stopped, the point digging slightly into the bone.

He rolled away, relinquishing his grip on the weapon, and stood up, ready just in case she was able to retaliate. But she only held her leg, fingers embracing the knife between them. Heaving a thankful breath, he quickly fished another dagger from his boot and made his way over to her. She rolled into a ball, a scream threatening to rip from her mouth. He held the dagger at a point in her neck that if he chose to penetrate, would instantaneously kill her. The ref, standing at the edge of the roped in fighting area, blew his whistle, announcing the battle over and the yellow fighter the winner.

"Round rule, no killing." Misaki provided.

The yellow youkai stumbled off the fighting arena, holding his side where the female injured him earlier in the match.

"Remind me to consult you the next time I need to place a bet on anything." Ike's eyebrows were raised as he nodded approvingly.

"So...you can...see the future?" Soren frowned.

"Ha! By the Oracle, no. Thankfully. There is a tendency that the bad outweighs the good where I am concerned. All I simply analyze both fighters and what they planned and from there I can come up with a fairly close ending."

All three of them watched to battles for a while longer.

"Soren have you heard anything about the other two teams that are seeded?" Misaki suddenly spoke up.

"Hm. I can tell you what I know. Ranked fourth is a team of ningens. There's a whisper of a specialty team with the third ranking. They say the team has a chanter but I've never heard of such a thing. At least, only stories that I would hardly deem as truthful."

"If there is a chanter, that'll be deadly against any youkai." Misaki immediately thought of Facelle and Dartanianne.

"What's a chanter?" Ike asked them.

"One of the three ancient winged races of youkai. There are herons, hawks and ravens. Hawks are the strongest and usually have hair some shade of brown and their wings are brown. Ravens are the quickest and most crafty, usually have black hair and their wings are black. The herons are the ones who all look the same, blonde hair, white heron wings with no variation in color at all. They are known as the light-chanters or just chanters and are the leaders of the three races because of their inborn ability to chant. There are several different kinds of chants supposedly, chants for growing things and the like. But there are also chants of life...and more importantly chants of death. The herons rule over the other two races because of these chants and though the hawks and ravens don't like the arrangement, there isn't anything they can do about it. They tried to wrest power from the herons but they wised up when the herons began to chant and their opponents began dropping like flies."

"For someone who calls them 'stories' you know quite a bit about the winged ones, Soren." Misaki teased.

"So what about them makes them deadly against youkai?" Ike thought that they seemed deadly against pretty much anything.

"Well..." Soren blinked. "I don't know."

"Holy cow somebody take this down!!" Ike exclaimed, "Soren doesn't know! What day is this?! I'm going to write this somewhere!"

Misaki elbowed him, "It probably has something to do with the fact that they are youkai themselves, so they know exactly what do chant to make another youkai meet his doom."

"Oh." Ike said shortly. "That would make sense."

Soren and Ike's stomachs growled at the same time and they all laughed.

"I'm guessing you didn't eat breakfast either?" Soren said.

"Nope!" Ike replied as they both stood.

"Well I'm starving. Come on Misaki, let's go find something to eat."

"No that's okay. I'm not hungry."

The look on Ike's face was one of astonishment. How could anyone ever possibly not be hunger? Soren shrugged at Ike's silent question.

"Want us to bring you anything?" He asked.

"Nah. Don't worry about it."

Soren shrugged again and the two guys left in search of food.

Misaki wanted to keep an eye on the round, however disappointing it was. She sat criss-cross, attempting to get more comfortable on the hard seat.

The second set of matches didn't prove anymore fruitful than the first. Misaki's dissatisfaction sunk to a new low with the condition of the participants.

_-lotsm_


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Yup. Here's another chapter. –And there was much rejoicing in the land, monotonous 'yay'-

O/C5: Misaki left early in the morning so that she wouldn't miss any of the matches. As things are going however, she could have slept in and not missed a thing. Despite the fact that the tournament is invitation only, the prospects look bleak. Soren and Ike sit with Misaki for a while until their stomachs growl in hunger and they go off in search of food.

--

"You do realize that even if anyone is any good, they will save their strength for more desperate times."

Kurama was sitting to Misaki's right.

"I suppose that's true." She admitted. "That doesn't make it any less frustrating though." Misaki sighed, "But there isn't all that much potential." She complained.

Kurama surveyed the going-ons. "Maybe. Maybe not. Those youkai appear promising." He pointed to the same roped off area that the yellow youkai won in earlier.

"That's were our bracket is. I haven't really been paying attention because our fight is already decided." She mused, looking in that direction.

A dark figure stood in the middle of the fighting area and his opponent had a confused look plaster on his face. They soon found out why.

The trench-coat wearing man disappeared, reappearing almost instantaneously behind his opponent.

"That won't end well." Misaki predicted.

The man made some sort of motion over the enemy's neck and the ref blew the whistle.

"Shadow Rider." Misaki realized.

Kurama chuckled, "I just thought all shadow youkai could teleport between shadows."

"No, that's not what I meant." She shook her head, "He's Shadow Rider. The Shadow Rider."

"I've never heard of him."

"Small wonder. He was more notorious back before I was a spirit detective."

"Old friend?"

Misaki let out a quiet bark of laughter, "I don't think he would put it that way. He's the nominated leader of a group known as Shadow Riders and he became The Shadow Rider. His real name is Carlisle." Misaki leaned forward as if it would help her catch a glimpse of Carlisle. "I can't imagine him being this old though."

"Says the woman who's God-only-knows how old."

"Alright I've had just about enough insults for today." She glared at him.

"It wasn't an insult." Kurama said hurriedly.

In the arena, Carlisle paused as he made his was back to his teammates and sniffed the air. Misaki froze, about to make a retort at Kurama. Carlisle's head turned in her direction and she whipped her head to Kurama, facing him.

"What did you say?" her voice shook, as did her whole body. She trembled under the Shadow Rider's gaze as his eyes roamed over her and Kurama. A chill went up her spine and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. The muscles in her back and legs tensed, ready to fight or flee at a moments notice.

Kurama immediately saw something was wrong but when he started to look down at the arena, Misaki reached up and forced him to look at her, not letting him even glanced at Carlisle. He discreetly placed a hand on top of her other hand which was laying between them, hoping to pass strength to her.

The fingers of that hand were digging into the concrete, leaving scraped holes behind. Eventually a fist was formed but it slowly relaxed as Misaki felt his eyes moving away. She swallowed nervously, actually afraid to see where he was now. Her lungs released a long breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Kurama waited patiently for her to say something.

"He's different." She finally managed, "Much different. That was the Shadow Rider but it wasn't Carlisle."

"What did you mean when you said you'd had enough insults for today?" Kurama gracefully changed the subject.

His effort was rewarded with a smile, wry smile, "First of all, at the banquet everyone kept calling me 'maiden' and 'young'. Then a couple of guys I met there found me a while ago and called me squirt like I'm some snot-nosed kid. Now you mention the fact that I'm really old. I've had just about enough references to my age in the past twenty-four hours for the next century."

"I didn't mean it the way it sounded." He looked away.

"I know. I was just teasing." A moment later, after Misaki checked on how the matches were going, she spoke again, "Last match for our bracket." Two new teams were walking up to opposite sides of their area but the members came fairly nondescript.

"What are you waiting on now?"

"Well, Yusuke and them are part of the last matches of the day, but match two isn't over yet in their bracket." She waved a hand towards the far right area of the arena, "Which reminds me, are they up yet?"

Kurama smiled, "Just as I left, Genkai was coming in and—"

"No need to say anymore." Misaki stopped him, "I just hope she can get rid of their hangovers. She's old enough to know a few remedies but none of them are very pleasant. Be glad you left when you did."

One member from each of the teams stepped into the ropes and the ref started them. What followed was a basic fight of punches, kicks, counter punches and counter kicks. A boring show of fundamentals which reminded Misaki of how much she was disappointed in the invites this year. Though it did take her mind off of Carlisle.

"This match doesn't matter anyway." Misaki decided towards the end, crossing her arms disgustedly and leaning back into the stair behind her.

Kurama waited for her to continue.

"The Shadow Rider's team is who we're going to face in round three."

"Assuming we win round two of course."

She gave him a 'how-stupid' look of exasperation, "And why on earth would you even say that? Why would you even think for a moment that we won't win this tournament?" She made a gesture towards the sad conditions of the fights beneath them, "I could take them all on by myself and still win."

"No need for Hiei or me." Kurama rejoined.

Misaki hadn't said it boastfully, she was merely stating a fact. Hiei sat down silently on her other side but she didn't seem to notice.

"I didn't say that." She answered quickly, "You...Hiei...and...well..." She couldn't think of a reassuring response and her head started hurting, "It's just that the competition is so weak this year...that even you...Hiei...I..." She frowned and blinked a couple of times, looking at the stair beneath them. That's when she saw a new pair of shoes. And then she saw Hiei attached to them. Her eyes widened and she got up abruptly, two pairs of eyes watching her go.

"What did you do to her?" Hiei followed her retreat with his gaze, "I've never seen her flustered like that before."

Kurama's frown mirrored Misaki's for an instant, "I didn't do anything. I don't think..."

--

Misaki left the arena, moving through faintly familiar hallways that made up the interior of the coliseum. Her head was reeling and she paused for a moment, leaning against the wall. The halls were empty, thankfully. Most of the participants wouldn't know their way around because of the—

"Excuse me miss but this area is off limits." Something buzzed by her face, stopping just at eye level. It floated in the air, a circular sensor at the front scanning her face while she squinted, then swatted it away.

It hit the wall fizzling and sputtering, "Come...Mi...Mis..aki..ki.ki."

Misaki heard footsteps coming from down the hall. She quickly and neatly blasted the robot and stepped around the corner, stopping to listen to those coming up behind her.

"So you think she's here, huh? After all these years?"

"That's what the rumors say." Another voice answered.

"Rumors? Ha! There are rumors every year. And every year there's one or two brave enough to claim to be the Ansatsusha."

"She's only actually been here twice: once the first year the tournament was put together." A third voice said.

"That's the only time I've ever heard of." The second one to speak interrupted.

"And again about a century or two later...I think that's right." the third finished.

"Well I've never seen her. Just heard stories. In fact, I think the tournament just made her up. To let the entrants think that someone can actually win this stupid thing." the first grumbled.

"There's always a winner." the second protested.

"Do you remember the names of anyone who won except for Misaki? I tell you, this thing is rigged! There's the final battle, yeah sure, but the winners always disappear!"

"How can you even doubt the reality of the Ansatsusha!?" the third chimed in. "There have been so many stories about all of the stuff she's done! She was even a spirit detective at one time!"

"That's all they are, stories! I don't believe them for a second."

"Oh shut up, non-believer."

"Go shove it yourself." The first retorted, "You know the technology this place has at their fingertips, they could just—"

"Now that's even more far-fetched than the stories." The second pointed out.

Misaki couldn't help but grin and feel mischievous. She let the silver highlights of her hair shine through and she stepped out into the hallway as one of the voices said, "What do you think?" to a party who hadn't spoken.

"Hey, do you know where the bathroom is?" She faced three dumbfounded youkai she didn't know...but the fourth party she knew all to well.

The three just stared at her, open-mouthed.

"Never mind, don't worry about it. I haven't been around here in forever so I think they've moved them." Misaki smiled and turned to leave only to have her molecules ripped apart by some unseen force. The scream of pain that would have been torn from her lips didn't make it before her lips didn't exist.

The four just saw her disappear into thin air.

"Now do you believe me?"

The other two nodded and the three of them turned into the hallway were Misaki had been hiding.

Misaki's molecules floated about five feet from the ground, mixing with the air around her.

The Shadow Rider—the fourth youkai—walked forward but stopped directly under Misaki's scatter atoms.

"You've grown strong, Hellfire." Misaki said to him, speaking without saying a word. Despite the fact that she was incapable of fear in her current form, her molecules shivered as his hand slid through them. Somewhere deep inside her nonexistent form, Misaki knew that he had grown more than just 'strong'. Once an element took on a human form, it was unable to return to the state she now found herself in (though there were words spoken among the Elements that there was a way to change back and forth, however none of them knew how). And yet Carlisle ripped her apart with ease. The power one would have to have to do that knew no bounds.

"Let's see how well you fight without a body." Carlisle snarled.

If Misaki had eyes, they would have narrowed. She literally flew forward and began to tighten herself around his neck.

"Your petty attempt is not amusing." He grabbed a clump of what would look like air to any passerby, but it was in fact a handful of Misaki, and flung her towards the wall.

She slammed into it, drained of energy, and sunk to the floor.

"Misaki?" Someone called.

"We'll finish this in the ring. Do try to get yourself together by then. Though I hold great doubts as to whether you will or not." Carlisle turned to follow the three youkai down the other hall.

Since she didn't have nerves, Misaki couldn't feel the pain that would have paralyzed her in human form. Instead she merely felt weak and heavy, unable to lift herself from the floor. A shoe stepped on part of her, trapping molecules beneath it. She rested.

"I thought she came this way." Kurama's face was bewildered.

"I'm here...you're stepping on me." Neither Kurama nor Hiei was able to hear her unspoken words.

"You've been wrong before." Hiei came up behind him, hands in his pockets.

"You're on me, I can't move..." Misaki realized that they couldn't hear her. How could Carlisle? How could Carlisle see her? She sagged closer to the floor, if possible.

Hiei's head jerked to the left, searching. The Jagan, behind its seal, started humming in his mind. He glanced around, to the ceiling, down the nearby hallway, but there was nothing. The Jagan wasn't going to let him go anywhere. Misaki was hurt, in a sense. Hiei reached out through the Jagan, but he couldn't feel any sort of presence of her mind.

"She's here." Hiei said, still shifting his eyes as if he could catch her at a new angle.

Kurama waited, knowing Hiei sought her out through the Jagan.

"But I can't see her. Or feel her." He admitted as the minutes wore on.

Misaki swirled slowly up Kurama's leg and the kitsune would have jumped back if the combination of molecules trapped under his foot and moving up his leg didn't hold him down. Instead his other foot took a step back, unsure of whether he was being attacked or not.

Hiei's katana came out of its sheath.

"No wait." Kurama held up a hand to stay his partner's attack.

Misaki continued up Kurama's body until she came in contact with the skin on his hand, having made her way up his side and down his arm. He was unable to move his whole side because of the weight.

While in contact with his skin, Misaki was able to use a primitive form of telepathy, flashing images in his mind, images of what had happened. The pictures that came next explained frankly that he wasn't strong enough to carry all of her but that he and Hiei could share the load. She also expressed a desire to see Yusuke, Kuwabara and Genkai fight their round, despite her condition.

Kurama passed on what he could of Misaki's 'conversation'. Reverting the images into words was difficult but Hiei understood. Kurama explained that Hiei had to come in contact with part of Misaki in order for her to move part of herself from Kurama. She was weak and couldn't move through the air on her own for the moment since she had forgotten just how heavy this form was. There was something about contact with a being in human form and being able to move around their body but she couldn't explain it well enough in pictures for there to be much understanding in that respect.

Hiei grabbed Kurama's wrist and his arm began to be weighed down. Just when he thought he wasn't going to be able to move that arm, the weight stopped, distributed evenly between Kurama and Hiei. Now able to speak to Hiei while part of her hovered under his collar around his bare neck, she showed him what Kurama had seen and added, to both of them, that they wouldn't be able to move to far apart as her molecules were attracted to each other. Five feet appeared to be the limit.

Obliging to Misaki's request, the two walked back out to the coliseum's seating. As they went through the halls, Misaki flashed images in Hiei's head. He watched as a movie of the Dark Tournament showed him using the Dragon of the Darkness Flame and then later conquering it. Curious, he saw that arm in his mind's eye, wrapped in the bandage like it was currently, keeping the Dragon under a seal until the time came when he would use it. There followed a complicated series of pictures showing that the arm was still injured and that if he wished she could go beneath the bandages and knit the injuries completely, improving his movement with that arm.

Hiei hadn't noticed any difference in his swordsmanship but he gave her permission to do so if she wanted. Immediately he felt a tingling on his arm as she worked unseen in microscopic ways.

Underneath the seal, the Dragon was tame but restless, longing to be set free but content with waiting. Misaki was careful not to accidentally let it loose.

"Hiei, Kurama! Over here!"

While Misaki talked to Hiei, he and Kurama arrived back inside the arena. The two of them steered for Botan who was sitting in a prime spot for watching Yusuke, Kuwabara and Genkai's matches.

She frowned as they came closer.

"Where's Misaki?"

Hiei and Kurama looked at each other, unsure of how to explain it. Kurama placed a hand on Botan's shoulder and felt the slightest bit of weight come off onto Botan.

Misaki didn't wish to crush the fragile reaper and so she only shifted just enough of herself onto Botan, quickly brushing the girl's cheek and communicating with her before the weight became too much. She slid back to Kurama's arm and Kurama sat down next to Botan, Hiei sitting on Kurama's other side.

"Oh dear." was Botan's response to Misaki predicament.

"Look, there they are." Kurama said, pointing at the trio who had just walked up to the ropes.

"Yusuke!! Kuwabara!!" Botan shouted, waving her arms so they would see her.

Yusuke and Kuwabara looked around for the owner of the voice but it was Genkai who spotted her and showed the other two where she was.

The boys grinned and waved back.

"How did you get here? I thought there weren't any outsiders allowed within the tournament grounds." Kurama wanted to know.

"They don't allow the sponsors of the teams here until the finals. I think. I'm not even sure if the sponsors are allowed to come at all. Anyway, they let me in. I'm here to be Koenma's eyes and ears. And to cheer on our favorite little humans, of course."

Down below Genkai stepped through the ropes.

"Class Es. The whole lot of them." Hiei noticed, looking at their opponents. "I thought Misaki said this was an invitation only tournament."

"It is." Kurama answered, though Misaki swirling irritably around both of their arms was answer enough.

"Then how did they get here?" Hiei scoffed.

Even Misaki didn't have an answer for that one.

The ref blew his whistle, signaling the start of the battle.

"Dragon of the Darkness Flame!" the youkai in the ring shouted.

"That could be how." Kurama said.

"That's my attack." Hiei muttered darkly. He wondered how a puny youkai could manage to summon the Dragon when it was mastered and in his control. He had the markings underneath the seal to prove it.

"And it backfired." Botan noted.

Genkai stood watching impassively as the Dragon consumed her enemy. She calmly walked back behind the ropes, hands still clasped behind her back.

They could see that Yusuke and Kuwabara's mouths hung open—they had never seen the Dragon do such a thing—but Kuwabara pulled himself together and marched over the ropes.

The whistle blew again.

"Spirit Gun!"

Hiei, Misaki, Kurama and Botan could hear Yusuke's explicits from where they sat.

"Well they're certainly going all out, aren't they? They must know they have no hope of winning even the measly first round without replicating the strongest attacks they've seen." Misaki was talking aloud to herself since no one had the ears to hear her, "Weaklings."

--

_-lotsm_


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: ARGH! It was so hard to pick where to stop on this chapter! Things just keep moving and there isn't a good place! ARGH! Oh well...

O/C6: Kurama joins Misaki in watching the matches, then Hiei comes along a while later. Misaki leaves with a headache she believes was brought on by a stare from the Shadow Rider, going into a hallway. She hears people coming towards her and ducks into another hall, but steps out to meet them as they are having a conversation about her. Carlisle rips her apart as she shows herself, making her revert back to her true form: one of mere molecules without any form. Carlisle leaves her thus weakened. Kurama and Hiei come along, and Misaki communicates telepathically with them by being in touch with their skin. She strings herself between the two of them, being too heavy for just one or the other to hold. Kurama and Hiei carry her back out to watch Yusuke, Kuwabara and Genkai's match as she asks them to. They meet up with Botan and sit down. Genkai's opponent gets consumed by the Dragon of Darkness Flame he summons. And Kuwabara's opponent is able to use the Spirit Gun Yusuke is infamous for...

--

"Urameshi! That's your attack!" Kuwabara yelled at the black-haired, swearing boy.

Yusuke finished his string of curses before answering, "I know! You don't have to tell me that!"

"I would suggest you move out of the way, Kuwabara. Unless you want this battle over with you as the loser. The permanent loser." Genkai spoke up.

"Huh?" Kuwabara turned back around to see the blue orb of energy shooting for him. He ducked, Yusuke and Genkai dodged, and it harmlessly hit the arena wall a few feet behind them.

"Alright, that's it little man!" Kuwabara tramped purposefully for the youkai.

"He's not done, baka." Genkai warned.

"Spirit Gun Quad!"

"What the heck's a Spirit Gun Quad, Urameshi?!"

"I don't know!!"

"Well it's your attack!!"

"I know that!!"

"Stop yelling and pay attention to your opponent." Genkai ordered.

Two columns of two shots of Spirit Gun were heading straight for Kwuabara's head.

He managed a jump to the left, leaving Yusuke and Genkai to fend for themselves once more. The attack hit the wall, though they noticed that it didn't even leave a scratch.

"They seem to have reinforced the coliseum to be able to with stand such impacts." Genkai noted approvingly.

"Wait...does that mean you've been here before?" Yusuke looked at her in surprise.

"Pay attention, slacker!" She scorned.

Yusuke rolled his eyes and cupped his hands around his mouth so that his next words would carry to Kuwabara, "He's done!!" Yusuke announced triumphantly, "He's only got five!"

"Don't assume Kuwabara's opponent is limited in the same way you are, dimwit."

Kurama was continuing his advancement on the youkai, though there was a bit more confidence in his step from Yusuke's words.

"Spirit Gun!"

"What the—" Kuwabara's exclamation was cut short as he dodged again. This time the energy skimmed the air right beside his shoulder.

"Spirit Gun! Spirit Gun! Spirit Gun!"

"Thankfully he decides to announce his attack before he releases it." Genkai scoffed.

"Man this is getting annoying!" Kuwabara easily kept his dodges up, catching on to the fact that the Spirit Gun only traveled in one direction: straight. He suddenly got an idea and grinned. "Well I won't have to dodge them anymore. That was getting tiring anyway."

"What did he say?" Yusuke asked.

"He should stop mumbling to himself and keep his eye on his enemy." Genkai said as Kuwabara barely managed to eke out another misfire for his opponent. "Look out!" She shouted.

"What?" Kuwabara glanced up to see one of the blue attacks less than ten feet from him.

Yusuke saw Kuwabara hit for sure, but then the orb whizzed past his ear and dissipated into the wall.

Everyone looked at Kuwabara. His spirit sword was in his hands and he held it like a bat, ready for the next pitch.

Four more blue energy balls shot towards him and he made quick work of them, though his aim was a little off. One of the orbs disrupted another battle as it sliced through one of the participant's arms.

"Sorry! Heh." Kuwabara decided to end it before he did anything else like that. He ran forward, spirit sword comfortably in both hands. He brought the sword up, even as he closed the fifty feet of distance between him and his foe. He swung downward and the sword extended, stopping within an inch of the youkai's throat. The ref blew the whistle, announcing Kuwabara the winner.

He let his sword go and it disappeared. Walking triumphantly off the field he called to Yusuke, "We've won now, just don't go getting yourself killed, Urameshi."

"Yeah, yeah." Yusuke stepped over the ropes.

--

"I wonder what specialty this one will have." Botan mused.

_"Better not be anything else of mine." _Hiei thought.

"Wouldn't there be mercy rules since Kuwabara and Genkai won the first two battles?" Kurama asked.

Botan shrugged, "Don't ask me. It looks like Yusuke is going to get to fight regardless."

--

The ref whistled a third time.

This youkai ran for Yusuke, leaping in the air and holding his hands together above his head. An orange, crackling beam of a sword appeared in those hands.

"Hey!!" Kuwabara protested.

Yusuke rolled to the left and the force behind the sword caused it to pierce the arena floor by several feet. But the youkai recovered quickly, pulling the sword from the ground and dashing after Yusuke. The youkai got closer the second time, slashing the air were Yusuke's leg had been mere seconds before. Yusuke nimbly leapt away, landing lightly and taking off again as the youkai came in hot pursuit.

Yusuke could see that there was no way he was going to get anywhere near his enemy with that sword between them.

"Rrr...I hate to do this so early on but...Shotgun!" He fired a barrage of bullets which barreled directly for his opponent.

Somehow, the youkai miraculously evaded every single one of the bullets. However, the effort put him off balance and the sword disappeared as he stumbled to recover.

Immediately recognizing the opening, Yusuke closed the distance and before the youkai could regain his balance, Yusuke fired one last shot.

"Spirit Gun!"

It wasn't quite a point blank attack since Yusuke didn't want to waste anymore time. As the energy gathered in his finger, aimed at its mark, something green and spiky grappled his arm. The rose whip, for that was what it was, made Yusuke's arm point just off center right as he released his energy before slamming him onto the ground, hard.

Even though the breath was knocked out of him only an instant, the youkai stood over Yusuke within that instant, bright orange sword sizzling just shy of his neck.

The ref blew the whistle and called the battle in favor of the youkai.

--

"Now he just has to announce the winning team, our humans! Hurray!" Botan shouted happily. "But I didn't see what happened actually... Anyone care to fill me in?"

Kurama and Hiei exchanged slightly exasperated looks before Kurama decided to explain it to her, "The youkai lashed a rose whip onto Yusuke's arm, causing his attack to misfire and also pulling him to the ground. It was a simple matter of reaching Yusuke before he recovered."

They watched as Yusuke shuffled off the field angrily.

"It shouldn't matter though, right?" She said, "Genkai and Kuwabara both won their matches so it's two against one...right?"

"I would assume so but I didn't catch the calling on Genkai's match. Did you Hiei?"

Hiei shook his head.

"But Genkai won because the other guy died." Botan pointed out.

The ref raised his hand on the youkai team's side.

"WHAT?!" Botan shouted, standing up.

Hiei and Kurama felt Misaki take off as a great weight was lifted from them. She shot for the ref, moving at the speed of light. Gently, but firmly, she embraced the ref's body with herself, her sheer weight ensuring that he wasn't going anywhere.

"Why do you say they win?" She murmured in his ear, managing to get her point across with a series of images showing him raising his arm in favor of Yusuke and the others.

The ref's mind raced, muddled through her influence. The rules of this round clearly stated that no one was to be killed. One of those on the youkai's teams died. In the first battle.

"But she didn't kill him, baka." Misaki summoned images reflecting the fact that Genkai didn't even move while the Dragon consumed its baiter. "Don't let your ignorance weigh in on this match." Misaki didn't quite say that, knowing it wouldn't help the situation, but she continued to persuade the ref.

His arm had come down as soon as she put herself upon it and though he struggled to raise it again, he didn't succeed. Misaki steadily removed herself from his opposite arm. He hadn't official announced the winners by word of mouth so he was allowed to change his mind.

"Winners...Team Urameshi!"

Misaki sank to the floor, releasing him. All of the energy she stored up while with Kurama and Hiei had been spent. She knew she wouldn't be able to make it back up to into the stands, much less to the room.

--

"Woo-hoo!"

"Yeah!" Kuwabara and Yusuke exchanged high-fives.

"Let's go." Genkai turned to leave.

"Wait a second." Kuwabara started to follow but he stopped, turning his head this way and that. His spirit sense was going off the charts. Something was wrong.

The other team had cleared the ring and the ref was gone as well.

Kuwabara walked around a bit, feeling as though he was playing a game of hot and cold. He would take a step in a direction and either the feeling would grow or diminish. He found himself near where the ref had been standing during the match. He felt as though he was burning but there wasn't anything around.

"Kuwabara, you look like an idiot!" Yusuke called, grumbling something underneath his breath while he followed the red-head.

Kuwabara shook his head, "Sorry...it's just that I felt something...strange." He tried to move back to where Genkai stood waiting for them, but he couldn't lift his leg. "Uh...Urameshi..."

"What?" Yusuke was next to him now.

"I...uh...can't move."

The heat given off by Kuwabara's body gave Misaki an easy way to travel onto his body; she let the hot air lift her off the ground and she floated just off of that body heat aura, tired beyond physical limits. She just barely was able to tell him what happened and that he and Yusuke would have to share the load if they wanted to move.

Kuwabara put a hand on Yusuke's shoulder.

"Wow yeah okay I know, I should have won my battle but..." Yusuke felt as though someone placed weights on his body and his shoulder sagged. But Kuwabara had removed his hand.

"It's Misaki..." Kuwabara said in amazement.

"Been putting on the pounds, eh Misaki?" Yusuke tried to shift. He staggered as she shoved more weight down on him in response. He grinned, "Only a girl would answer like that. What happened?"

She couldn't answer but luckily Genkai walked up.

"Let's go, you can have a party else where, dimwits."

"Uh Genkai, it's Misaki." Kuwabara held up a hand, wiggling his fingers and feeling Misaki weave in and out, bobbing over the heat coming from him.

Genkai frowned. She knew all about the Elements and their first form. She winced just thinking about how much power it would take to revert one back from human form. "Well come on. We can figure this out elsewhere. Preferably without other people around."

They followed her at a slower pace, meeting Hiei and Kurama at the door where they had entered the arena.

"Hn. Bakas." Hiei knew the reason for their slower movements. But they were human and prone to their own little fragility and weakness, so he didn't say anything else.

"Botan sends her regards," Kurama passed on to the winners, "And her congratulations. She had to leave as soon as your match was over."

"Master Genkai? You're needed, if you would follow me..." A polite oni walked up to them and spoke to the short sensei.

Genkai nodded curtly to the oni. "Get back to the room." She ordered the others, unwilling to say why in front of an outsider. Genkai followed the oni down another way.

There was a quiet chime from a corner near them as a circular transporter identical to the one they saw when they first arrived appeared. They walked into it and found themselves at the end of the hall on the floor where their room was.

"Uh, I don't suppose any of you know which door is ours?" Yusuke surveyed the hallway; all of the doors were the same.

"I do." Misaki had recovered slightly and was energized by the warmth she surrounded. She swirled around Yusuke and Kuwabara's legs for a moment, urging them forward.

They obliged and Hiei and Kurama fell in step behind them.

A little more than halfway down the hall, Misaki weighed down their legs so that they couldn't take another step. She pulled slightly to the right, indicating the door next to Kuwabara as the correct one. Kuwabara opened it.

Genkai sat on the couch, a familiar sight to Hiei and Kurama.

"Took you long enough." was her irritable greeting.

"But...you...I..." Kuwabara stammered, pointing at the door now closed behind the group and back at Genkai.

She raised a hand to stop him. "Forget it. You really don't want to know."

Misaki relaxed as soon as the two humans walked into the room, allowing her molecules to float to the ceiling.

"So what do we do about Misaki?" Kuwabara asked as he felt her go.

"I don't know." Genkai shook her head.

"Do about? Do nothing. Nothing can hurt me. I am safe. No longer do they know." Misaki sighed and rolled her molecules around, delighting in the freeness of movement, her mind beginning to revert back to how it had been before her human form.

"I don't know much about the Elements. They're unlike anything else, human or youkai."

"You talk as though you know a few things." Kurama noticed.

"I do." Genkai answered frowning, "But very few. And only what she has told me offhand."

"Wind blows, Fire burns, Rain falls, Earth grows. Protect Life until Death. Light until Darkness. Prevent." Misaki sighed again, reveling through the air, resting and restoring her strength.

"And I've never heard how any Element is given a human body. Though I've never heard of that body being taken away either."

"And how is that supposed to help us get her back to normal." Hiei said coolly.

"She is normal." Genkai shook her head again, "I don't suppose you know how to get her back either, flame-boy."

"I do." Coahtu materialized into the room through a wave of fire. "But it's more a matter of her wanting to than me knowing how."

"Fire burns!" Misaki rejoiced, she would have swooped down and mixed herself in Coahtu's hair if more of her strength had returned.

Coahtu looked up, knowing Misaki was next to the ceiling, though only able to just barely make her out. "Come down Misaki.""

"Who? Me? Is that me? I forgotten seems to have. Come down? Tired I am."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Yusuke asked Coahtu.

"An Element is its purest form is but a mist of consciences. She has to decide to regain a human form, then I can help her to take it. That is our flaw I believe. We are all-powerful and yet we desire the flesh."

"...our?" Kuwabara looked at her.

She resisted snorting, "If it isn't obvious, yes. I was once a dancing spirit of the roaring flame." Her hair wavered briefly as if remembering the long-forgotten steps. "But like all the others..." She indicated her very human form.

"What makes you feel safe?" Hiei asked suddenly.

Only Kurama and Coahtu understood what Hiei was asking. How does Coahtu fall asleep? Or how did she fall asleep if ever.

Her eyes got a faraway look to them. "Cradled in the arms of an ancient myth. The last of its kind, now dead to this world." She refocused on Hiei, "It doesn't matter now. I cannot slumber again."

"An old one made of fire and you slept listening to the roaring flares. This world never saw its glory." Misaki added reverently.

"Misaki what binds you to your present form?" Coahtu called.

"Peace. Fear. Protection."

The others saw the quizzical look on Coahtu's face.

"What did she say?" Yusuke spoke for all of them.

"Fear? Fear of what? What have you to fear?" Coahtu ignored the question. A realization suddenly hit her, "How did you come to be?"

"No harm. No...I...f..fear?" A memory stirred and Misaki faltered. Pain. Ripping from one form to the other. "I come from...all places...I...I am..."

"She didn't just randomly decide to tear herself apart." Coahtu muttered, disgusted with the formless Misaki. _"If Ice were here, this would be simple. They understood each other. He could bring her back. I was the Oracle when Misaki was created. I don't know what will draw her out."_ None of this was helping her. "Something had to be strong enough to do this to you." She continued talking out loud, not appearing to take notice of anyone else in the room. She thought carefully about her next move. Coahtu knew what the end result would be and what her part was in that respect, but if Misaki had not gained that inborn desire along with her form, it was pointless. "Whatever it was, Misaki, it will come back. It will hunt to down and it will destroy you."

Above them, Misaki brooded. Destroy? No longer exist? Such a thing was laughable...and troubling.

"You are not safe."

Safe. That word embodied everything to her. She gazed down at the human forms below her. They looked safe like that. How did that go?

Coahtu could somehow feel the slightest bit of desire within Misaki and she seized upon it, "Forgive me, sister." She bowed her head. When she looked up again her hair flamed blue, almost crackling around her, "Step back." She ordered the others.

They complied, though the burning fire they could see in her eyes involuntarily caused them to do so more than her words.

Oh to have a body! A form! Misaki continued looking over the youkai and the humans, not noticing Coahtu's hair flame up or the hand open in the air facing her direction.

Coahtu closed her eyes, not envying Misaki for what was about to happen, and engulfed Misaki's hovering molecules in white-hot fire.

--

_Grr...yes it is a cliffhanger but there isn't any good place to stop without making the chapter super super long!! ARGH!_

_-lotsm_


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I've realized just recently that I have no idea how long this saga is going to be...and I have a feeling it's going to be much shorter than the first one...I hope not -sighs- oh well...and yes there are more flashbacks in this series!!...don't we just love those???

O/C7: Yusuke, Kuwabara and Genkai win their match. They and Kurama and Hiei go back to their apartment in order to figure out a way to get Misaki back into her own body. Coahtu appears and ignites Misaki's molecules...

--

The pain that erupted within those molecules was equal to, if not greater than, the pain as she was ripped apart; though this was a completely opposite circumstance: her molecules were being fused together. Every inch of Misaki was on fire. There was only one way for her to be rid of that blistering, erupting pain. And that was to take on another form.

Everyone saw a part of the ceiling ignite with fire, then plummet to the ground. There was no form to it, no shape, and despite what common laws denoted should happen, it didn't set anything around it on fire. The clump of flames writhed in agony and everyone in the room could feel the throbbing, merging structure. Literally. Misaki's true telepathic abilities were returning as she began to reform but she was unable to control them while in between the two; the searing of her body broadcasted to all of the others.

Kuwabara fell to his knees, holding his head were the pain was emanating from. Yusuke dropped to the floor, feeling worse than he had when Genkai put that stupid orb in him.

Even Hiei, immune to any effects of fire or heat, felt his insides consumed by it. His nerve endings frying, he sank down as well, blinded by her. Through the Jagan, her pain was intensified doubly since the disembodied being was sensitive to such telepathy. His vision faded in and he could see the fire licking at the edges of his eyes.

Then all of a sudden, it stopped.

Through tears, Kuwabara looked up.

Coahtu had sucked all of the fire back as quickly as she had blasted it out. At her feet lay Misaki, restored to human form; though with a few differences.

The ends of her clothes were singed, parts of her skin blackened and others ashen. Her hair was completely white.

Coahtu's hair, usually bright and stunning, hung grayish and wilted.

"Get up." Coahtu commanded forcefully. Even though her order had been aimed at Misaki, the others slowly stood.

Misaki merely stirred, her eyes wide open and staring forward without seeing. The whites of her blood-shot eyes seemed to have flowed over the iris and pupil, giving them a milky-white appearance like one who is blind.

The room remained deathly silent with everyone still recovering from the pain.

Misaki sat up, back slouched with her hair hanging in her face. Then she got to her feet.

Her eyes stared forward, wandering around the room, but no sense of recognition for what she was seeing stirred behind her unnerving gaze. Misaki looked beyond things, never at them.

She blinked slowly and the pain everyone had echoing through their heads faded away; even Coahtu's hair was restored to life, shimmering as though alive once more down the woman's back.

The strain was evident on Coahtu's face, contrasting her hair's lively flow. "If she doesn't get some sleep, she will be of no use to you." Rapidly Coahtu's hair flamed around her and she disappeared.

Misaki still didn't move, didn't blink. She didn't breathe either as far as anyone could tell.

There was a knock on the door and a slip of paper slid through the crack between it and the floor. Genkai picked it up and quickly scanned the contents.

"Times for the matches tomorrow. We play last." She told Yusuke and Kuwabara. "You play first." Genkai motioned to Kurama, Misaki and Hiei.

Kurama looked worriedly at Misaki, she needed rest.

Yusuke yawned really wide.

Kwuabara elbowed him, "Urameshi, how can you be tired when Misaki's..." he stopped, unsure of what condition Misaki was in exactly.

"I'm sorry, but..." here he yawned again. Which made Kuwabara yawn, which made Genkai yawn a little. Kurama was to preoccupied with Misaki's condition to yawn and Hiei refused to yawn.

"Well no one is going to be of any use if we're all falling asleep ourselves. I suggest taking a snack to bed and going to sleep." Genkai noted logically as everyone's stomachs growled on queue, save Misaki's. Neither Genkai, nor Kuwabara or Yusuke seemed to remember that Misaki was unable to sleep, if they had known in the first place. Genkai reached over to the counter and put the paper on top of it, leaving after doing so.

"Too bad we don't need you to fix us something, Kurama." Yusuke walked over to the cabinets with Kuwabara close behind. He opened the doors, reached in and grabbed a couple somethings, tossing one to Kuwabara.

Hiei's eye caught a sense about their movements and when he watched closer, he suddenly realized why Misaki hadn't moved yet.

Kuwabara and Yusuke almost mechanically went into their room, closing the door behind them. Misaki collapsed.

Kurama caught her before she hit the floor and sat her down on the couch.

Coahtu suddenly reappeared in front of Misaki and uncharacteristically slapped her.

"How dare you." The words dripped with distaste.

Misaki smirked, the first sign of emotion since her current form. She slowly turned her head back to the front and stared up at the infuriated Coahtu.

"Don't provoke me." Misaki's voice was cold, her smirk frozen in place, "You've done enough damage today. Go away."

Hiei and Kurama felt out of place as the two titans glared at each other.

"Don't ever do that again." Coahtu said finally, breaking the contest and leaving in her usual way.

Misaki blinked a couple of times before leaning back against the couch.

"What exactly are you never supposed to do again?" Kurama wondered.

"I was forcing them all to do what they did. Unfortunately for me, I couldn't concentrate on all of them and the two of you at the same time."

"Sloppy." Hiei criticized, meaning the mechanicalness of the two guy's movements.

Misaki shrugged one shoulder.

"Kurama you can stop hovering over me. I'm fine."

Kurama had his doubts, "You need to rest." He insisted.

"Which I can't do with the two of you acting as though I'm going to die any second." She sighed, "I don't suppose there's any way I can get you two to leave me alone..."

The looks they gave her were almost identical and Misaki weakly chuckled.

"How do you plan on sleeping when you can't?" Hiei crossed his arms.

Misaki cringed. When she had talked with Kurama about the Elements, she had managed to leave her part in it out. Hiei had stumbled across the subject within her head but she never had any intention of telling him about it.

"You told me that the other Elements couldn't sleep. And yet you left yourself out of that narration. I had guessed as much but wasn't positive such comments included you" There was a hard edge in Kurama's words. "You did happen to mention that they could sleep under particular circumstances."

"Hiei can tell you."

"You tell me."

"I haven't slept yet." She lied, meaning she hadn't figured out what made her feel safe.

"Yes you have." Hiei seemed a little smug.

The look Misaki shot Hiei didn't faze him in the slightest.

"Go eat some of that stupid ice cream you like, would you?" Misaki snapped.

Hiei's crimson eyes flickered, "What?"

"Iced cream? Sweet snow? That refrigerator can give you any type of food you want..." She left it hanging, seeing the understanding spring to life in his face.

Hiei disappeared and the refrigerator door banged open, then the door to his and Kurama's room flew open as he shot past it, little more than a brief dark blur. The bedroom door closed behind him. Misaki thought she could hear the window open as well but she wasn't sure.

"That was a smooth subject change but you didn't answer my question." The King of smooth subject changes noticed.

Misaki made a face, "I'll be fine, go to bed."

Kurama shook his head in refusal, "If there is someway for you to fall asleep, what is it? I'll help in any way that I can." He sat down next to her.

Misaki saw that he truly wanted to help. Forget seeing it, she could feel it radiating from him.

"I can't. You and Hiei will easily win your matches tomorrow so mine won't matter anyway."

"Look me in the eyes and tell me that you don't know how you can sleep and I'll let you be."

Misaki bit her lip before turning to him, almost breaking her straight face as she saw what she had felt deep in his eyes. Why? How could he even... How long had she known and yet tried to ignore it? She resisted the urge to look away, "I don't know how I can fall asleep."

Kurama stared at her for a long time before he stood up.

"Alright. Fair enough." He was angry with her, knowing that Hiei had no reason to lie. He nodded to her slightly and went into his and Hiei's room, flicking off the lights and shutting the refrigerator door before he left.

Misaki sat in the darkness, her eyes closed. She concentrated on moving. All of the muscles everywhere screamed when she tried to relax them. And yet her limbs trembled because of the strain they forced by remaining tense. She had managed to stand at Coahtu's command but that had been earlier... Her body had been given time to realize the sort of 'new' condition it was in. New body, new muscles...new pain...

Little beads of sweat formed on her arms as she strained to regain control over her body. Finally she moved one of her toes, but it would take hours just to be able to stand and days to even partially recover her strength.

She pushed the later part of that thought away. Standing would be a miracle and maybe she would be able to walk. Being carried into the ring for her battle would be beyond humiliation.

--

For the fourth time, Misaki heard a bedroom door open and then the refrigerator door open, the light shining briefly before going out. That would be Hiei on what was probably his eighth gallon of ice cream if he carried one in each arm.

Misaki grimaced, hoping that it wouldn't have an effect on his battle the next day.

"Misaki?"

"Mm?" She didn't open her eyes; she was close to moving all of her right foot from the ankle down. Her recovery would be effortless with sleep, even an hour and she could regain control over her movement.

"Misaki...I'm sorry..." She felt someone sit down next to her.

She didn't answer, though it wasn't out of spite. She truly was close...just a little more...

"Misaki are you okay?"

A hand cupped her face, turning it to the right, and she heaved a sigh, all concentration lost.

"What do you need Kurama?" She could barely see the outline of his face in the dark.

"I...I was going to tell you that I'm going out." He stood up again.

"Alright." Her eyes shut, she heard light footsteps heading to the door.

Misaki ungracefully fell to the right—on purpose—and struggled to pull her legs up on the couch below her. She barely managed to succeed and she lay still, exhausted just from that simple effort.

Even in the absence of light, her white hair gleamed. Lacking the strength to even change its color, Misaki hated the feeling of powerlessness.

Only half-conscious, she heard a door open and close. Two strong arms lifted her up, one under her knees and the other at her back, and carried her off. She resisted a scream as soon as she was touched, her muscles did not want to be even brushed by the slightest of winds.

By this time, Misaki couldn't even lift her arms to wrap them around her carrier's neck and her eyes refused to open. She just rested her head against the warm chest.

Misaki slipped in and out of the realization of things around her, perceiving that she was lying on top of a soft bed and there was someone next to her who pulled her close. She felt her hand taken from her side and the fingers placed over a heart.

Immediately from the cadence of the beat, Misaki knew who it was. Her ears latched on to the sound almost hungrily. She was vaguely aware of a hand that rested on her neck but the heart's beat was steady and strong and her body welcomed the pulse's pull into a deep sleep.

--

_Ice sat deep within the cavern, head bent over his work. Beads of sweat rested along his body, creating a fine sheen that shimmered in the pool of light shining down from a hole in the ceiling._

_The ice he was sculpting smoothly formed underneath his patient hands as he roamed the near-perfect surface, fingers searching for irregularities, nicks and cracks. Even as he found such chips in the ice, he filled them in, running the tips of his fingers repeatedly over the spot until it no longer held any imperfection that placed it apart from the rest of the art._

_Ice sat up, the light catching the finished sculpture, reflecting through, changing colors and refracting onto the icy walls of the cave._

_His hands retained their normal skin color, though he had worked hours on end. Ice was his element, he was Ice; so the effects that such sub-zero temperatures could create did not affect him._

_Each wondrous curve of the crystal dragon shown smooth, every scale fashioned to a perfect fit as its long sinuous body curled in and out and through and forward and back on itself, an elongated version of the Chinese legend, complete with two long whiskers hanging from either side of its mouth._

_"It...It's beautiful."_

_Ice's work so engrossed him that another walked up while the sculpture took form under his careful eye without him realizing it._

_Aldeve stood a few feet from the light, wrapped tightly in heavy clothing intended to keep the biting chill from freezing her._

_The golden-eyes flecked with bronze that Aldeve loved so much beckoned her forward, closer to the finished product._

_Eldred complained when Aldeve introduced the newest addition to the family, claiming that the eyes were odd. All of those before Ice had physical features that exactly echoed the element they came from. But then Aldeve changed that, loving the color of an owl's eyes she had seen peering at her in the night. And so when Ice was brought into a human form, she made his eyes thus. It pleased her and nothing else mattered. Eldred was proud of the girl nonetheless._

_Aldeve and Ice were close, as close as a brother and sister could be. There was a deep bond that formed between those who were created and those who helped create them. Of course then time spent together while the former was weak merely amplified the already present bond._

_Focusing on the sculpture and its serene beauty, such thoughts continued to flit through Aldeve's mind._

_Ice's features sharply contrasted that of his piece of work. His face was chiseled and cut, similar to the way ice often seemed brutal, and yet at the same time flowing together exactly as his sculptures did. _

_His hair was silver, though in the light the short spikes were a mirror image of what was happening currently to the ice. _

_Despite all of the beautiful colors that emanated from ice when the light hit it, his favorite color was green; the color of trees and grass and such emeralds found under ground._

_He was perfect, of course. Aldeve created him that way. Except for that silly fear of heights he had..._

_A small frown creased Aldeve's face. She worried about her brother. Despite the bond, or perhaps because of it, as a sister it pained her to see him so alone, content to spend his time sitting in the light far within his cavern, sculpting the masterpieces that came as a result of such hours spent. As was the common rule for Elements, the created would become a creator, forming their own bond with an element turned Element. From Eldred came Stefen, and from Stefen came Aldeve and Coahtu. Coahtu was away, stationed as the Oracle and therefore couldn't create, and Aldeve had discovered the spirit within the ice. _

_But now it was Ice's turn...and yet nothing came from him. The circle could not stop with him; Aldeve could almost feel other consciousness coming from the strange world around them, didn't he? She was not gifted with the ability to sense the heart of the elements and even she had found Ice. Had this fault passed from her to him only more so? Was he truly to be the last of their kind to be awakened?_

_Aldeve couldn't help but smile as Ice showed her the intricacies of the sculpture, seeing how truly fulfilling making it was. How much more he could be fulfilled if only he created his finest work: that of another Element!_

_But who was she to denounce such beauty? Aldeve showered radiant compliments onto the art while Ice nodded, quietly agreeing with every word. Then she left._

_Ice was returned to his solitude, a sense of accomplishment embedded deep in his soul._

_The other Elements never questioned his singularity. They knew as well as he that when one was surrounded by their element, they were never truly alone. But Ice had a secret, one none of the others, not even Aldeve, knew about._

_"Do you like it?" He asked the emptiness around him._

_He felt something brush his hand and a sense of complete and utter affirmation washed over him._

_There was a presence here in the cave he had created so long ago, a safe haven were he could work without bother._

_Ice hummed to himself while he moved the dragon out of the light, pulling a second block of ice onto the short ledge in front of him._

_She—Ike had always considered the presence female—asked what he was going to create next. At least, that was the impression he received from her. She couldn't speak in the literal air passing over the vocal chords and exiting the mouth way—due to the fact that she obviously didn't have a human form. But as she touched his skin, he received images, emotions that trickled into his mind as colors and feelings. He could talk aloud, and somehow without ears she was able to hear and understand, but her responses always came from within, forming under his mind's eye. She was a master at getting her point across, a master of such artwork needed to do so, and Ice never had trouble understanding her._

_"You'll just have to wait and see." He told her._

_The truth was he never knew exactly what would decide to emerge from the blocks he started out with._

_He began etching at the cube, absently chunking away large pieces—the small work did not begin until a form came._

_She watched patiently, excited somehow though she had watched the same start numerous times before. There was never a set picture in his head before he began sculpting. She would know. When in contact with his skin, she could read his thoughts, see his past, encounter memories and the like._

_The light danced about his block and almost guided his hands as the pieces were removed. Ice could have just as easily held an image in his head and then poofed the image into the ice. He knew without even trying that approach that there was no satisfaction in such ways. And so he continued, the presence breathlessly awaiting what would emerge._

--

_-lotsm_


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: look at me, nothing to say, la la la, nothing to say, look at me, nothing to say, la la la, nothing to say...I heart Blue...he's my favorite...the annoying little bugger... -yes i do know that isn't what he says...but he was dancing and i have nothing to say, live with it!-

O/C8: Misaki has regained her true form but with the abrupt burning that forced her together, she cannot move. Coahtu tells the others that she can only recover through sleep. She leaves and Kuwabara and Yusuke head off to bed themselves. Misaki lies to Kurama, telling him that she doesn't know how she can sleep and she gets Hiei to leave her alone by telling him about how the fridge with give him any food he wants...including sweet snow. But Misaki is paralyzed, just barely managing to keel over onto the couch. Her eyes are closed and she streams in and out of consciousness, realizing that someone has carried her away to a softer bed. Her fingers are placed on someone's chest so that they can feel a heartbeat and her ears latch on to the sound, her aching body welcoming the pull into sleep.

--

Misaki woke up, slowly and pleasantly, but she kept her eyes closed. It was light outside, she could just tell. Somehow fighting in the tournament didn't matter at that point, she thought as she eased out of her slumber. All that mattered was the beat beneath her fingers. A hand covered hers, aware that she was beginning to come around. Then she remembered who that hand belonged to.

"Nn...Hiei?" Her eyes came open gradually to see Hiei's deep crimson one's gazing at her.

"I told him you could sleep." A bit of haughtiness crept into his voice.

Misaki was confused...Hiei?

He saw her brows knit together and he frowned as well, catching bits and pieces of her still scattered thoughts.

But...Hiei? How did...what was going on?

As she woke up her thoughts cleared and she carefully pulled up mental barriers to stop Hiei's Jagan from reading her thoughts.

Misaki heard the door open and she froze, somehow knowing exactly what was about to happen.

"Hiei have you seen..." Kurama's voice trailed off.

The room got deathly quiet. Kurama hadn't been happy with her yesterday and the lie that she knew he knew she had told him. And then to see her and Hiei together proving the lie, try as hard as he had to believe her words...

The room got deathly silent and everything paused for a moment or two.

Kurama's mouth snapped shut, his eyes growing cold, "Our match starts in a few minutes."

Misaki's eyes flicked back to Hiei who was shaking his head as if clearing it of something. She looked to Kurama who stood at the doorway a second longer, tight-lipped, briskly turning away. Before the door he slammed behind him shut, Misaki was up to catch it, but Kurama moved on into the living area.

--

Hiei shook his head again, his memory foggy. What had just happened? Something about Misaki...and Kurama... He felt the Jagan whimpering in a corner of his mind. It was hiding something from him. Hiei couldn't recall the last few hours...Misaki told him...something important about the refrigerator...but he couldn't recall... He wrested the true memories from the Jagan who howled once but more in surprise than anything. They flooded back to him, sweet snow, laying in the window half-asleep... Hiei's anger grew, aimed at the Jagan. It had taken over his body and...and what? Helped Misaki sleep? The Jagan Eye was his servant, it served him, he reminded it fiercely, not itself!

_"Stop your sniveling!" _He spat at it.

The Jagan stopped and became defensive at Hiei's presumption. It didn't take over his mind. It couldn't, it informed him. The Jagan was incapable of that.

_"So if you didn't what exactly did you do?" _He asked harshly.

The Jagan wasn't intimidated anymore. It couldn't take over his body, as a matter of fact, it neatly informed him. It could not do anything that Hiei did not want to do in the first place. If there was even a smidge of resistance—

_"Enough!"_

Misaki was in pain and the Jagan simply—

_"I said enough!" _Hiei shoved it away, feeling it greedily snatch something as it was pushed off. It was something about Kurama...something... Hiei's frustration with the Eye overrode his irritation and he let it be. Wait. Kurama. And Misaki. Their match. They were both probably waiting for him. Hiei got up, grabbing for his katana.

--

"Kurama!" Misaki took hold of his arm, but he jerked away. Misaki could feel all of the emotions rushing from him and her own were overwhelmed by the practically suffocating, confusing mass. Anger. Obviously. Betrayal? Jealousy? Of what? Misaki was hit off-guard by those. The kitsune with everything he could possibly want? A family, friends, not to mention the intelligence inherent with his Yoko age.

"Kurama, please...what..." Misaki tried to stop him again but Kurama stepped out of her reach. He turned on her, eyes burning and flashing with every emotion that Misaki was being barraged with.

She had to stop it...stop the unleashed, uncontrolled...Misaki struggled for a moment before raising barriers thicker than before. A quiet breath expelled from her mouth as his inadvertent attack ended as quickly as it began. Behind the walls in her mind she shivered, suddenly and completely by herself, unable to feel even the slightest aura.

Kurama was behind the counter as Hiei walked in, his eyes clear and his mind restored.

It hit Misaki like a lightning-bolt that she was standing. The horrors and concerns of the night before were gone; she moved freely now.

Kurama left abruptly, "Going to our ring." was his airy explanation.

"Hn. What's eating his roses?" Hiei grunted.

Misaki shrugged, unwilling to open herself right before having to fight, following Kurama at a safe distance.

--

"Round Rule!" The announcement boomed throughout nearly empty arena. "First to be touched looses. Killing is allowed, but no piercing attacks can be used. No blood can be spilt. Touching is by skin to skin only. Weapons are allowed but do not count as a contact."

"Hm. Should be interesting to try and get a kill without spilling any blood. Kind of ruins the effect of a death blow."

Hiei noticed that Misaki had turned into the mysterious masked fighter, or at least a similar version of Genkai's Dark Tournament disguise.

"Genkai got that idea from me, I'll have you know." Misaki may not have been able to read thoughts, but she could interpret the look he gave her. "I used it the last time I was here for about the same reason that she used it centuries later with you all."

The announcement went on, "Bracket One! You'll be playing a two vs. two battle, then a one vs. one. Bracket Two!" The arena was split into two halves now instead of the previous four quarters, "You're playing a three vs. three."

Misaki took a minute to see who was fighting in the other half, but she didn't see Ike or Soren. Or Nicolai. That meant they'd be playing later and Misaki would get to watch them.

"Bracket Three is like One and Four is like Two."

"Enough with the announcements already!" Misaki muttered to herself, pulling the hood of her grey cape farther forward to shade her eyes.

"All of Round Two will be played as a water arena," as the announcer resonated the words, water filled the bottom of the arena the fighters stood in. Pieces of the floor broke off and rose with the water level, leaving each team a slab of land to stand on while they weren't fighting.

Little island bobbed up, making a diverse path to the middle where a larger chunk of land floated, then there were more islands that lead to the slab of land the other team was on.

As if of the same mind, Hiei and Kurama stepped forward and Misaki fell back. Neither man would back down so they crouched, awaiting the signal to start.

Hiei was glad he didn't have his double-edged katana with him. He put his left hand around the top of the sheath of flicked up the hilt with his thumb, ready to draw at a moment's notice.

"Begin!"

It would be easy enough to incapacitate an opponent and then touch them.

He looked over at his partner, ready to spring to the next string of islands so they could head for the kill...or touch perhaps, but Kurama was gone, already nimbly heading for their opponents.

Hiei smoothly drew his sword as he made the simple jumps, and remembering the round rule, he easily turned the katana so that the sharp edge was facing him. It would be blunt enough that he couldn't accidentally slit the enemy's throat, however that didn't mean his attacks wouldn't leave nastily wonderful bruises. Hiei allowed himself a small smirk and he reached the larger rocking island before the others managed to get half-way across.

He positioned himself to his best advantage and stood, allowing the katana to rest inches above the ground as he dropped his hands to his sides. Hiei appeared to rest on his feet, but every muscle was tensed appropriately, awaiting an opening or a weakness. He put one hand in a pocket under his black cloak.

Kurama and the other two arrived at basically the same time, but each took their approach once they landed differently.

Kurama had a rose in his hand and held it to his nose, eyes half-closed as if reveling in the beautiful aroma.

One opponent was female, the other male. There wasn't much to distinguish them from each other. The female's brown hair was unbelievably long, hanging down her back with at least two feet of it lying in a circle at her feet on the ground. At the end of her braided hair was a wicked-looking, sharp clip with deadly points and spikes that held it together. The male had dark leather gloves on reaching a little beyond his elbows and yellow hair.

"Such perfect Round Rules for us, don't you think Dalstra?" The shorter male asked the female, his eyes never leaving Hiei or Kurama.

"I do think so, Indrad. Perfect for us. Superbly fit." She responded, her words just as monotonous as his had been.

"I thought it was, Dalstra." Indrad admitted.

"And well you did think, Indrad."

"That is a lovely rose you have there." Indrad told Kurama.

"I agree completely, Indrad. Lovely indeed."

"You don't mind if I remove my gloves do you Dalstra? I think they'll be just perfect for the job."

"Certainly Indrad, don't strain yourself."

He took the first one off, tossing it to the side and his arm, hand and fingers extended until they flopped to the ground as though made of rubber. "I didn't purposely the last time, Dalstra." He put the other glove in his teeth to pull the other off as it appeared his other hand would be of no use in that respect.

"I know, Indrad. And yet I had cause to warn you."

He jerked his head, releasing the glove from his mouth so that it fell near the first. "It was so wonderful for you to do so, Dalstra." The other hand flopped on the floor, fingers unraveling like spaghetti.

"Oh shut up." Hiei said finally, rushing forward with the intent to shut them up himself.

"He's fast, Dalstra."

"Do look out, Indrad."

Indrad was able to dodge Hiei's first strike but his long arms suddenly came to life and extended towards him. Hiei ducked between fingers but felt one rush past his ear as he dodged clear of them. As he moved around the shaky island, the hands grabbed for him. As one headed for his face, he swiped upwards with his katana. But the blade bounced as it contacted, not making any sort of injury that he could tell.

The ref for the battle has his work cut out for him. But his eyes had been trained for just the sort of thing that was happening. He followed all four combatants, flitting his gaze rapidly back and forth between then, his whistle in his mouth ready to be sounded as soon as he saw blood or a skin to skin touch. Of course, the multiple eyes on his head helped. He had eight of them actually. And they could all be focused on a different subject. That gave him a good advantage; with what was going on, he needed it.

As both Kurama and Hiei soon found out, Dalsrta's hair was similar to Indrad's fingers, able to extend and retract and weave and loop as if a separate being entirely. Hiei wasn't positive but he thought he might have heard a snake-like hiss as it flashed past his side. He jumped clear as it began to circle him, hoping to grapple him long enough for Dalstra to get close. Or even kill him by squeezing air out like a boa constrictor would.

He avoided all attempts from either enemy and saw that Kurama managed to do the same. But the red-head's attitude towards him was distant. If they worked together the battle would be over quickly.

--

Misaki absently tugged at the hood of her outfit as if it could cover any more of her face. While she had the strength to stand, her power was greatly drained and would remain so for a while; her hair was still white as were her eyes.

"Jut my luck," She grumbled, "In time for the tournament. Hmph." She watched the battle unfold in front of her but she didn't see it.

So when the ref blew the whistle, she pulled herself away from her thoughts.

"Bracket One, two vs. two match over. Deciding match of one vs. one get ready to start!" The ref said.

Kurama and Hiei appeared on either side of her.

"What the heck!!? Which one of you lost!?!"

Neither of them looked at her, or each other. Lacking the ability to read their minds because of her barriers she wasn't able to tear it from them.

"Damn you both to the gate!! Now I have to win in order for us to move on and we all know how easy that's going to be!" She resisted taking out her anger on the both of them through a solid punch to their stubborn faces. Before she completely blew up at them, she jumped to the center island, trying to feel glad that she was able to do so on her own two feet. The recent developments robbed her of that satisfaction.

Her opponent appeared a few feet in front of her and they faced off.

"Begin at will." The red said.

Misaki warily eyed her adversary who was grinning stupidly at her. Something about the smile made her think of a mask and she stayed on edge.

_"I know you." _

Misaki blinked. There was no way anything could even graze past her awareness in her mind. And yet the words were unmistakable. She could have sworn she saw eyes deep in the water.

If this match didn't matter, Misaki pictured herself running forward but seeing as how it did matter, she stayed put, seething a little at the two unspeaking youkai standing on the other big island behind her.

"Scared are we?" He asked her.

"Should I be?" She responded.

"Oh most definitely." He assured her.

Something loomed behind her and Misaki sped to the left around the outside edge of the island but as she skidded to a stop, turning around before planting her feet again, she saw nothing chasing after her.

Her enemy, whom she's circled neatly, faced her.

Misaki's eyes widened half in fear half in surprise underneath her hood when his pupils brightly flashed a pinkish color.

_"I know you. Don't run."_

That voice. Misaki did know it. She dodged right as the presence formed behind her again. To all that watched, Misaki avoided attacks that weren't being made.

"Show yourself." Misaki commanded to the air.

_"I'm right here."_

Misaki dodged again.

_"Why should I obey?"_

"Coward!"

There was a rushing of water and from the depths of the water rose a human shaped torso and head, with arms crossed over his chest. The island rocked unsteadily and Misaki strained to hold her balance in check.

The water rotated angrily as he stopped growing, towering over Misaki and most of the arena.

The opponent in front of her collapsed to the ground inert.

Misaki drew a hissing breath in through her clenched teeth.

The water-human form swirled into a great water spout that snaked unnaturally onto the island to the fallen opponent.

Misaki leapt backwards onto one of the smaller pieces, landing on one knee and staying so, watching in mild terror as the vortex sucked itself into the opponent. The figure stood, but now the body was completely different.

The menacing blue-skinned youkai, who appeared eerily genie-like with the pants he wore and his bare feet and chest, crossed his arms again amplifying the genie look.

"How I've longed to hold you in my arms again." He said, reaching his arms forward to embrace her. Those arms became familiar pillars of water shooting forwards, stretching to claim her.

"Amureo." Misaki said with a calmness she didn't think she could maintain as she jumped sideways onto another chunk of rocking land. "The pleasure is all yours, pond scum."

"I know." He grinned viciously, retracting the arms until they hung normal at his side. "Friends!" Here he spoke to the whole arena, "We have an honored guest before us!"

Even the match on the other side of the coliseum paused in mid-strike to listen.

Amureo's voice reverberated on the walls, "Misaki Ansatsusha."

Everyone held their breath, only a select few knowing the truth to that statement, gaping at the masked fighter.

"While you honor me with such a name that I surely cannot live up to, I'm afraid the blue fellow here is slightly mistaken. Perhaps the water proves too much for him." She added just loud enough for Amureo to here.

He scowled at her, but in the brightness of his eyes he knew he had her.

"I am not the Ansatsusha, nor do I claim to be." Misaki spoke loudly again.

Amureo's expression practically glittered in expectation, "Oh but surely you jest, take off that hood and prove yourself, legend." The title was said with a hint of scorn. He had her now.

Misaki shrugged but obliged, pulling down the hood and the fabric across her face. She shook out her long white hair and her own eyes gleamed triumphantly at him.

The arena murmured with the discovery of no such legend and the battle next to them began abruptly again.

"How dare you make a fool of me." He growled at her, curling his lip in desire, "For that you will pay dearly." His words were only for her ears now.

"Fool? Perhaps you are mistaken Casanova." Misaki crossed her arms, satisfied that rumors of the Ansatsusha would wane for now.

"I am not mistaken." _"I know you."_

"You know nothing." She replied angrily.

_"I know you!"_

_"You know nothing!" _She shouted back, barriers shattering to pieces.

As soon as she responded wordlessly, she knew it had been a mistake.

--

_I had to go back and read some other chapters to see just what color Amureo's eyes were...and I really have to apologize to anyone who had to read that mess! I saw so many errors in that chapter that it was painful to read! I'm going to go and start editing again...man it was horrible..._

_-lotsm_

_and yes I do love cliffhangers, thanks for asking!_


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Holy cow...I just realized there is this whole triangle thing going on...oops...

O/C9: Though partially under the Jagan's influence, Hiei's heart beat is what caused Misaki to fall asleep. And since she lied to Kurama and he finds Hiei's helped her, Kurama is not a happy camper. Misaki finds that she can walk, her movement restored though her power isn't. The three of them go for their match, and Kurama and Hiei fight a two on two battle. But one of them loses and so Misaki is forced to win if they want to continue (which they do because I say so) Misaki's opponent turns out to be Amureo who has returned by taking over another's body—much like Yoko and Suiichi's situation, except Amureo emerges from the body at will. He kills off the body now that he's found what he wanted. He somehow has telepathic powers and Misaki breaks down her barriers to scream back at him as he continues to cajole her wordlessly. And that was a very large mistake...

--

His mind had been tearing at hers before the barriers broke but with her numbness she put upon herself, she hadn't noticed. And now he latched onto her mind like no one ever had before, aggressively rending through her as she reeled from the impact. She didn't even have a chance to block his attack.

_"You...claim not this...power..." _Misaki managed through the turmoil shrieking in her brain. _"How come you...to it?"_

Echoing to her from the inner chaos—Misaki wished her head would split to release the pressure—came Amureo's mocking voice.

_"The Shadow Rider/The Hellfire/In whom we pledge/Our burning pyre/Our deep desires/In the darkness dread."_

Misaki vaguely recognized the verse somewhere beyond the mayhem.

_"Haha these are interesting." _Amureo was digging through her memories.

Misaki protested, trying vainly to shove him away from the unwanted remembrances but she was weak and he had already been given an all too firm grip on her.

So slowly it seemed, a memory began drowning her. The exaggerated images, as if in slow-motion; her brother, burning to death, the fire singing and scoring and tearing and melting hot, every flame elongated, every pain amplified, his screams echoing voicelessly, endlessly, across her mind's plane and then in place of the screams, laughter and fire-eyes but the laughter became Amureo's.

He intended to break her.

_"Stop!" _Misaki cried but she went unnoticed.

More memories, along with unspeakable loss. Friends, loved-ones, all dying in Misaki's arms, killed by things worse even than Amureo. All of the emotions hidden and all of the scars cracked open, searing through Misaki as they surfaced as one.

Outside of the mind's circumstances, Misaki's body fell to its knees, disembodied as a separate thing from the inward pain. But it was the worst kind of pain, the pain that never subsides no matter what healing is allowed.

She almost broke free for an instant, but more nightmares pulled her down.

_"This is interesting, don't you think? Educational maybe?" _He cooed.

It was her fault. All of the deaths were her fault. She had killed them all. If not for knowing her, if they hadn't met her, never gotten remotely close to her they would still live. And some of them, to her utter shame, had died willingly for her. And what had she ever done to deserve such a horrible burden? Honor? No it was no honor for someone to die in her places.

Those flames, those flickering, maddening, roaring, cursing flames consuming the flesh of her brother..

_"They were meant for you."_

_"...me...?" _A defeated, a broken voice somehow answered.

_"Yes those flames were meant for you."_

Her deepest darkest fears were at the mercy of this blue-skinned fiend and he used them unscrupulously.

_"You were the cause of every single thing that has died in your arms; you killed them. They died for you and you did not deserve it."_

_"...no..."_

_"Oh yes, my sweet. You are responsible for their lives, and yet you tossed them aside without a second glance."_

That wasn't true. She ached for them. They might have died in vain for her but she did not toss them aside.

Something deeper inside Misaki stirred; a power which slumbered, given to Misaki long ago by two of those she had held in her arms, two who had sacrificed themselves in order to bestow on her power; power to subdue the enemy they had faced together. Had they been cast aside? No. They had not.

Misaki's head snapped up. Her hands which had been cradling her head, dropped as she stood.

_"Wha..." _"What?" Amureo's hold loosened.

A last memory, that exact memory of the two she thought of, flittered across her mind, and then Amureo was ripped out of Misaki's head. It was his turn to reel back.

She walked across the water to the center island, her feet inches from the ground. Her eyes were blood-shot but they twirled madly in three different hues as a slow glow began to pulsate around Misaki.

"How...how could you...?" Amureo back away from her, shaken up.

"Amureo." Three voices emitted from her throat, "Pond scum." They were quiet voices, but powerful voices.

Amureo grimaced, recognizing one of them as hers.

"Water filth. Germ-ridden man-killer." They continued insulting as Misaki came closer. "Aqua sludge. You are unfit to look at." She held an arm in front of her, reached up, and grabbed his neck in her hand; he was rooted to the ground in fear.

She began to squeeze and he clutched wildly at her wrist, his eyes mad with that same fear, trying to tear away from her.

Misaki didn't notice at first, but the sleeve of the arm that held him started unraveling around her arm. When it reached her shoulder it stopped, the strips circling her arm which pulsated slowly with the glow.

Amureo struggled to reach the water, knowing he could escape with his life if he did, but his throat was held in Misaki's iron tight grip.

When the molecules of her arm began to come apart, Misaki noticed. They were small, but held just a little bit of importance in the grip Misaki had. No arm, no grip. The power that surged through the limb to keep her hold was too much for her body, too much for the arm which wasn't capable of holding that much spirit energy. And so the molecules separated, returning to a form that could hold such power.

Misaki enclosed her fingers around Amureo's muscular neck, feeling those same muscles crunching along with part of the vertebrae. Amureo's eyes bulged, his face purple from the lack of oxygen. More of Misaki's arm came apart, steadily floating away, and without them...well she would have no arm.

"Um...Bracket One, I've already called your match in favor of Team Koenma a couple of minutes ago." The ref appeared to be saying for a third or fourth time, "Please clear the field so that next matches can be prepared for." However he wasn't going to physically intervene...

Misaki's hold on the pond scum in her hand loosened, but more in need of an arm than in compliance for the ref.

Amureo felt his chance and he escaped her, making a beeline for the water while hacking and heaving precious air. He exploded before he even had a chance to make it half-way.

The shriek of death was cut short and Amureo was gone; nothing remained.

Misaki felt a dark presence shadow over her and she didn't need to look around to know that Carlisle was watching from the crowd. It hadn't been at her command that Amureo exploded.

Her wrath subsided and with it her power. Misaki silently pulled her molecules back to her arm, hoping no one had noticed the fading and disassembling occurrence, as she torn the bit of fabric that held the ruined sleeve to the shoulder, leaving her arm bare. But she quickly wrapped the arm, though it was a sloppy job, so that the molecules couldn't have free run all over the place. She'd never get them back if they did.

Try as she might she couldn't get them to rejoin her body and so she was forced to concentrate on not letting them fly away.

Misaki's eyes had faded back to white again, but some of the former green was beginning to speckle in. She pulled the wrap around her face and the hood over her head, folding in her hair beneath it and shadowing her features once more.

Misaki leapt over the islands back to where she stood before, feet lightly touching the jouncing slabs before taking off again. She impassively walked between the waiting youkai—ignoring them—who silently followed her as she headed out of the arena.

--

She managed to skirt away from the both of them and went back to the apartment, practically running down the hall to get to the room. Any second her molecules felt as though they would up and float away and it was a strain to hold them close. She ripped off the cloth covering her face and the hood, dashing for the cabinets while clutching her arm close to her. If she didn't think about Amureo, if she kept her mind on the task, she would be fine. Her mind threatened to cave inward and she focused harder.

It took her several tries but eventually the cabinets got her drift and when she opened them a roll of cloth-bandages appeared. She snatched it, scowling with relief.

"Why is it always an arm?" She asked out loud, sitting down on the couch and beginning to wrap the bandages in between each finger. She thought of several other people she knew whose arms were in disarray.

It was a messy job when she was finished as she was in a hurry, but it covered from the tips of her fingers to just a little below her shoulder, providing enough maneuverability for the moment.

Realizing that she didn't need the 'masked fighter' outfit as long as her hair remained white, Misaki stripped it off, having worn a regular outfit beneath it. She folded it as best she could and shoved it under the couch, grabbing for the face covering she tore off earlier and placing it on top of the pile.

She luckily had a tank top on underneath the disguise so when she had time later it would be no trouble to redo the ugly arm wrapping job. She checked her other arm, flexing the muscles and moving her fingers around. Everything was in place with that arm, thankfully.

As Misaki headed back out the door, the notes Genkai placed on the counter the night before caught her eye. She picked up the top one. Genkai had read it wrong, her and the boy's match was second!

Misaki ran over and ripped open Kuwabara and Yusuke's room. It was strangely empty. Messy...but empty. Misaki wondered where they could have gone to. She hoped Genkai had caught the mistake in time as she raced back down the hall.

--

Relief washed over Misaki when she saw that they had made it in time and she wondered at the confusion. Finding a decent seat, she put all thought into watching them.

"Who did that?" Soren asked, indicating Misaki's wrapped up arm as he and Ike sat on either side of Misaki.

She barely glanced at them, thankful that they didn't comment at yet another hair color change. "I did."

"Well it won't do you any good in battle." With gentle hands, afraid there was some horrible injury beneath, Soren took the right arm which he had sat next to on purpose, and began unwinding the bandages.

At this point, the matches hadn't been told to start yet as one of the other team's members hadn't showed up and Misaki had to keep her molecules together once he started unwrapping her arm so Misaki just watched him.

"There's nothing wrong with it!" Soren exclaimed as he finished.

Ike leaned over her to look.

If they had taken time to inspect it closer, they might have noticed that not all of her arm was there, but only Misaki could see the tiny dots that made up the rest of it as they struggled to release themselves from her constant pulling to keep them close.

"If you're going to criticize me..." Misaki said threateningly, grabbing for the bandages with her other hand. But he kept them out of her reach.

"No, no, I'll wrap it back up. Silly woman."

Misaki sat sullenly between the two youkai who towered over her as Soren expertly rewrapped her arm up.

She scrutinized his work, moving her arm into different positions and wiggling her fingers which he had deftly enveloped with the bandages and found to her delight that it felt comfortable and didn't constrain her at all.

"Thanks!" Misaki said, meaning it.

"No problem." He replied, smiling down at her before reclining back in his seat.

--

"This is a team fight, don't forget." Genkai spoke up.

Kuwabara stood behind her his arms crossed in a fairly good attempt at looking cool.

Yusuke popped his neck and stretched his upper body in preparation.

Genkai had seen what time the notes said but merely spoke wrong. So when she went to escort the guys to the arena, she found them dead asleep. It was nothing the old psychic couldn't handle though.

"Bracket Four, three vs. three, begin!"

"Stick close for now." Genkai ordered as she nimbly leapt for the center island.

"Girls?! I can't fight girls!!" Kuwabara shouted as he landed.

"Looks like you're gonna have to." Yusuke noted from close behind.

Across the bobbing island, three women stood confidently. They looked similar to each other—Misaki cringed at the blue skin—with the color of their shoulder-length, curly hair, being only thing different: sea, navy, and violet. Which just happened to be their names as well.

Sea stood in the middle, twirling a bit of hair around one finger.

--

Ike laughed, "That poor team, they're going to get ripped apart!"

"This definitely won't end well." Soren observed.

Misaki waited for more of an explanation.

"They're Sirens. Or perhaps siren youkai. That other team is lucky they have a female if I'm correct."

"Which you usually are." Misaki surmised, a wry grin on her face.

"Well yes," He said modestly.

Misaki hoped the others had a plan.

--

"Anybody got a plan?" Yusuke asked, staying on his toes.

"Don't get killed." Genkai contributed.

"Thanks grandma, that's real encouraging."

"I'm not fighting." Kuwabara sat down defiantly.

"That's your stupid plan?!" Yusuke yelled.

"Then die!" Sea hissed as she ran towards them.

Kuwabara was sitting in a sagely position with his eyes closed and a frown on his face.

"Kuwabara you numbskull, look out!"

"Just because your plan is not to fight, that doesn't mean you should give them a free chance to touch you." Genkai added.

"Oh! Right!" Kuwabara stood up and side-stepped the oncoming Sea who was flanked by Navy and Violet.

The three of them stumbled past to a stop just shy of the water and whipped around to find Genkai, Yusuke, and Kuwabara grouped together a short distance away. Their eyes glowed the same color as their hair and the triplets stepped backwards off the island, diving neatly into the water.

Instantly a song filled the coliseum but the Siren's skills were so refined that they were able to aim the full effect onto their opponents.

"Cover your ears, fools!" Genkai shouted.

Kwuabara and Yusuke's reactions were too late. They stood dumbly, slack-jawed with the light of will gone from their eyes. They began walking for the edge of the water.

Genkai knew she wouldn't be able to stop them. And while three on three were good odds, five on one were not. Her mind raced. She was unwilling to release a powerful attack; though the waters protecting the Sirens would have cancelled such a blasted anyway.

"All of this for some lousy game." Genkai flexed her fingers, suddenly wondering what waited at the end.

She and Toguro had entered this tournament in her earlier years with Toguro's older brother as their third. But they lost. Genkai took the idea of such a tournament and thus came the Dark Tournament, though entry was a bit easier.

The idea of returning to the Tournament of Threes tempted Genkai out of retirement in the hopes that she might find what the result would be for the winners. The rumors increased throughout the years, making the prize seem even larger for those who claimed victory. The possibilities were electrifying. Genkai held her own reserves about how true those rumors were, but her interest and curiosity could be satisfied with her current dimwit teammates...maybe...

--

Misaki grew steadily more nervous as Kuwabara and Yusuke plodded forward. It irked her that the Sirens were so confident of their win that the guys were forced to walk.

Neither Soren or Ike had said anything in a while. Just at the outreaching edge of her mind, which she still fought against, she caught fleeting images of what the Siren's song was making them think. As if any male needed any help in that department.

Not wanted to knock them out, Misaki slapped the both of them as opposed to punching their lights out. The glazed look plastered on their faces faded.

"What was that for?" Ike rubbed his cheek.

"She has to stop them before they reach the water." Soren was instantly back into reality and absorbed by the unfolding events.

In all of Misaki's years, she hadn't been privileged to deal with Sirens—thankfully for them—so as a result she didn't know much about them, not having cared enough to learn anything.

"Why?"

Soren didn't even glance away from the field as Kuwabara and Yusuke continued onward, "Those two will become the Siren's permanent slaves until they release them. Sirens merge with the water when they take on their true form and the water in turn amplifies their powers."

"So what do they really look like?" Misaki frowned, leaning forward.

She caught a glance of them and decided she didn't really want to know. They were ugly to say the least. "Why is it that all youkai have to change into another form? And always an ugly one at that." _"Except for Kurama of course...I don't think he could be ugly even if he tried."_

Misaki held her breath as she helplessly saw Kuwabara and Yusuke step off into the water. She thought of those they were leaving behind.

--

_-lotsm_


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I made it a LOT longer than I normally like because I am going to be gone for a week. Gone for a week with NO ACCESS TO A COMPUTER!!!! -cries- it's sad...it really is...not to mention the fact that it means no chapter postings for a whole week...it stinks...no typing, no contact with a keyboard...or internet...all very sad...anywho, enjoy the longness!

O/C10: Amureo, given power by the Shadow Rider, has ripped asunder Misaki's mind, tearing apart her ability to keep any memory at bay. And so Misaki relives the deaths of all of those she remembers. Over and over and over again. She manages to defeat Amureo and watch Kuwabara, Genkai, and Yusuke fight against Sirens. As the three Sirens sing their alluring song, Kuwabara and Yusuke step off into the water and take a fatal dip with doom...

--

Genkai reacted faster than most youkai watching would've given the old sensei credit for. She struck one of the huge electrical lights hanging from the ceiling with a blast of spirit energy and then forced the crackling light down to the water with another blast from above it.

The huge light fell like a rock. Genkai landed on her feet soon after it hit the water.

An electric shock of that magnitude was enough to shrivel most humans. Genkai formed a barrier around Kuwabara and Yusuke but allowed them partial shock to awaken them.

They both shot out of the water as fast as possible, skidding to a steamy halt on the island.

The Siren sisters burst from the water, but they flew higher and farther than the guys. They hit the ground with a thud, rocking the island dangerously, electricity snapping in arcs over their bodies.

Genkai walked over and touched each of them, making sure she was well-guarded against any accidental exchange of shock.

"Team Urameshi, the match is yours." The ref announced.

"B..But!!" Navy's lip quivered.

"Yeah!" Kuwabara and Yusuke celebrated but Genkai gave them a look and they settled down.

"But we touched them first!!" Navy protested, pointing at Kuwabara and Yusuke. "As soon as they hit the water!"

"And she drew blood!" Violet showed him her profusely bleeding wrist.

The ref briskly walked over to examine the wound, careful not to actually touch the still charge youkai.

Genkai knew what the blood meant. She also knew that electricity would not cause a slash across the wrist. Bleeding from ears perhaps, eyes as well, but not wrists.

"Self-infliction." The ref decided, "An electric shock does not cause such bleeding. Thus she touched the three of you and her team wins. Call stands."

Genkai nodded thanks, her thoughts confirmed.

"B...but!!" Navy and Violet protested.

"Imbeciles!" Sea seethed knowing that Violet had a knife up her sleeve, and intended to give them both a good beating, but ended up giving them all a good shock instead.

--

"Well I certainly wasn't expecting that." Soren said, turning to Misaki. But she was gone.

Ike looked around but didn't catch a glimpse of her. They shrugged at her sudden disappearance.

Misaki practically flew down the hallways, tears stinging her eyes. The memories and emotions Amureo brought to the surface after years of her keeping them back was too much; they waged a savage and heartless war within her mind, seeping through her soul all at once and Misaki was powerless against them.

She somehow ended up outside and collapsed underneath a tree, pulling her knees to her chest and encircling them with her arms, burying her face in them.

_"I...I can't..." _Her thoughts waned for a moment. _"I wish to be without emotion, without pain." _She wished her brother was still alive.

Misaki got up, wandering aimlessly, not caring where she traveled as long as she kept moving for a while.

It got to be so late in the night that it was early in the morning, though only a few minutes past midnight. Her whole body was exhausted from the ceaseless tirade.

Managing to find her way back to the apartment, she ran into someone in the middle of the dark hallway, but stayed on track, not stopping until she had collapsed on the couch. She curled up, clutching a pillow in her hands.

Misaki felt the pillow in her hands taken away and someone sat her up, gathering her into their arms.

Hiei had been barraged by Misaki's emotions through the Jagan and he wouldn't get any sleep until the source was stopped. Feeling a little awkward, he held her close as she shook uncontrollably.

A thought, prompted by the Jagan, popped into his head. Share her burden.

_"A mind meld?"_

The Jagan echoed an affirmative. If he approved, they could meld his mind with Misaki's and allow them to lend her strength as well as provide an anchor, dividing whatever was wrong between them. Of course, Misaki would have to help, it couldn't be one-sided or it wouldn't work.

Misaki faintly hear her name being called and her hands felt Hiei's chest vibrating. Gathering up the last of her reserves, Misaki shoved back the onslaught, knowing she wouldn't be able to a second time.

"Misaki...I can't sleep with you like this."

Somehow his tone of voice made Misaki want to laugh.

"If we mind meld it will create a stronger barrier from whatever is in your head."

Taking a painful breath, Misaki pulled away from him, "Hiei a mind meld is more taxing than anything you could ever dream of. If we manage to pull it off correctly, and that's a big if...our memories, our thoughts...our awareness...we'll become like one mind in two bodies...you can't...hold anything...back..." She finished with great effort, struggling against what Amureo had done to her. She heard the laughter again and was lost once more.

Hiei saw her face contort in pain as her eyes closed. Unsure of the result, Hiei reached out with the Jagan to find that what was left of her mental barriers had dropped. With the Jagan as the rope between the two of them, they could pull together.

There was a resounding snap that echoed across their mind. It was almost like being at the movies. All of Misaki's life in her current form flashed before Hiei's mind's eye. It was all a blur and he only caught bits and pieces. Along with the countless years of life came vast storages of wisdom, as well as pain.

He felt her every emotion, heard her every thought, knew everything she knew and had been with her for every memory. Hiei never realized what type of person she was until just now. And he understood.

_"Your turn." _Something itched in the back of his mind and his focus suddenly collapsed inward onto himself.

Every feeling, every encounter, everything that made Hiei who he was, Misaki saw.

As it dawned on him exactly how much Misaki would know—which was everything—he pulled away. For the first time in his life, Hiei was afraid. It was an odd feeling, fear. Fear, panic even. No one could ever know that much, should ever know that much.

On one side of him, the Jagan was shrieking and he became indistinctly aware of what it was saying. If he tore away now, there was no telling the damage that would be done to him and Misaki both. And since his mind was already entwined with hers, the result would be fatal for her most likely.

Misaki, feeling his anxiety, unlaced his thought patterns from hers. Hiei felt the mental shove as the weave was unwoven. As each part of him was left behind, he could feel the barrenness, as if she was taking all of him away with her anyway.

Desperate, Hiei reached out with all of the Jagan's strength to latch on to her fading presence. Suddenly she was there again, silent.

_"Take your pick. I'd prefer not to be stuck like this forever." _Her voice rang true and Hiei felt it bounce off of the unfinished work as it wavered in and out of his mind, half there and half not. _"If you know me, I know you. That's just how it goes. But I can't..." _He heard some sort of laughter that didn't come from either one of them and he was enveloped in death. But he was the one dying. Over and over again, he died many deaths within her memories. The feeling was raw and unchecked but she couldn't help him, not unless he let her mind join his.

Reluctantly at first, but with a growing sense of urgency, Hiei's memories and knowledge were interlaced with Misaki's.

The deaths stopped.

It was different talking to someone telepathically and being melded as they were. When simply talking, one had to wait until a thought was formed and then sent back to be heard. Like this, the thoughts were simultaneous, one person knowing exactly what the other was thinking and responding in kind so that a simple conversation happened almost instantaneously.

_"...thank you..." _Misaki said, at last claiming a little relief.

She hadn't needed to actually form the thought as Hiei could feel her gratitude washing over him.

They were able to easily repair the damage Amureo had done and reinforce the mental barriers, finding that they were intensified with both of them behind the blockade.

Not having to worry about herself anymore, Misaki's thoughts switched over to someone else.

_"Where's Kurama?" _Was the general feeling Hiei got from her, though she hadn't actually formed the words. She sat up looking towards his and Kurama's room but Hiei kept a hold of her. She grinned at his reaction; he wasn't planning on letting her go.

_"We don't have to be joined at the hip." _A brief image of her with Hitune bolted to her, accompanied by annoyed amusement at the image, floated from her recent memories. _"We're joined by something a little stronger than that." _Hiei could feel her smile, literally feel the pleasant spark of emotion that accompanied it.

Carefully releasing her in case it might cause a horrible rupture between them, Hiei watched her get up and go into the other room.

Kurama wasn't there. Misaki frowned. He left last night too. Misaki went to the window, wondering where Kurama could be going and if he was alright.

_"He can take care of himself." _Hiei came up next to her.

Her frown deepened, _"I must have run into him in the hall earlier."_

The memory of her fumbling down the hall in despair popped up and Hiei stepped closer as if even the memory would cause a stir.

_"I...I'm better...now." _It managed to sound reassuring. And it was true enough.

_"You're short." _Hiei noted in mild astonishment, seeing that her eyes were barely even with his own.

_"Not much shorter than you." _She retorted.

_"Baka short onna." _He said, though there wasn't as much force behind it as there usually was.

She opened the window and sat outside of it on the edge, her feet dangling in the air. She scooted over as he sat next to her.

_"My baka short onna." _It was possessive and Hiei surprised himself by thinking it. Misaki refrained from commenting on it for which Hiei was grateful.

He was also grateful that she didn't insist on sifting through his memories. Nothing could be considered 'private' between them anymore but as long as neither of them had any desire to search for anything they managed to keep their minds their own. They respected each other too much to do anything of the sort without the other's express permission.

_"Where could he be going?" _Misaki still worried about the kitsune despite Hiei's convictions.

Though even Hiei had to admit that he was acting strangely. Especially after—

_"This morning." _Misaki cringed.

At the same time, they both remembered that morning's events. However each perceived it through different eyes and that launched them in to a two hour discussion of perception, referencing their first meeting when the gang had been sent on the retrieval and other events they both encountered.

--

Hiei yawned and Misaki noticed how tired he was. He looked cute when he yawned.

_"Cute?" _One of Hiei's eyebrows shot up.

_"You're about to fall asleep." _She quickly changed the subject, _"You should get some rest."_

_"What about you?" _He suppressed another yawn.

_"Don't sleep, remember?"_

Right, then what exactly did she call what she was doing last night?

_"You got lucky." _She archly replied.

_"Lucky?"_

_"If I hadn't fallen asleep, what would you have done?"_

_"But you did." _He pointed out.

_"So?"_

_"So it really doesn't matter now does it?"_

They glared at each other for a long time until Misaki laughed, breaking the silence. Feeling her amusement, Hiei smirked.

_"Whatever." _She said non-committally, slipping back into the room.

He leaned up against one side of the window frame, putting his arms behind his head, resisting an urge to make her stay.

Satisfied, Misaki kissed his cheek before turning briskly and leaving.

Hiei stared after her, even when the door was closed. He could feel her tireless delight as she settled onto the couch. Then he fell asleep.

--

"Wakey-wakey-poo!"

"Do you have to be so utterly annoying?" Hiei opened one eye to see the cheerful face inches from his, feeling the cool heat of the rising sun on his body as he rested in the open window sill.

"Yes! Yes I do as a matter of fact." Misaki stood beside him, hands on her hips.

"What's with you?" He grunted, closing his eyes again.

_"Can't you tell?" _Her brightly flashing green eyes were restored to their former and complete greenness.

In a flood Hiei's awareness of their connection rushed back to him and he knew why she was in such a good mood.

"No fighting today?"

"Nope! Here." She held out a white strip of cloth: Hiei's bandanna. "Came off last night I guess."

"Hn." He accepted it from her and covered the Jagan.

"Don't mention it." She waved a hand dismissing it, feeling his appreciation.

"Wasn't going to." He leaned back again.

"I know."

Exchanging wit out loud was more enjoyable.

A doorbell rang

_"Who could that be?" _Misaki headed out of the room. After a searching sweep with her mind, she smiled.

Hiei knew who they were through Misaki's memories of them.

Misaki opened the door only to be swept up by the towering Ike.

"Misaki! We have the day off!"

"Holy blood Ike!" Misaki exclaimed, "Put me down!!" She pushed at his shoulders, trying to get away.

"Aw, is the little Misaki afraid of heights?"

"Ash it, Ike! Put me down!"

"Ike, put her down." Soren ordered calmly, coming in the door.

"Oh alright!" Ike made a big show of sighing as he gently placed her feet on the ground.

"Soren! It's so good to see you!" Misaki deliberately walked around Ike to Soren and gave him a quick hug.

Ike's face was a picture of mock disbelief, "What? No hug for me?"

"Baka!" came the answer.

"Fine." He crossed his arms and pouted, his short spiky hair seeming to droop a little.

"What are you doing here so early?" Misaki glanced up at Soren.

"We almost got beat by some telepaths yesterday..." Soren began.

"They practically creamed us." Ike added, plopping onto the couch and stretching his long legs out, crossing them at the ankles.

"And you said you'd help us in that area." Soren finished.

Misaki edged away from the door apprehensively, "Nicolai too?"

Soren chuckled, "He's not here right now. But yes, him too."

"He's a bit of a womanizer," Ike rolled his eyes.

"As if I didn't already know that." Misaki interrupted.

"He was up early this morning." Soren noted.

"Said something about 'opportune time'."

"Which can only mean one thing..."

The two of them looked at each other.

"A girl." They both said.

Soren sighed long-sufferingly, "We told him to meet us later."

"He'll be fashionably late, as usual, so no hurry." Ike reassured her.

"Where are you meeting him?" She asked.

"You mean we." Ike corrected.

"I never said I was going." She countered.

"But you agreed to help us; didn't she agree to help us?" He sat up.

"She certainly did. Of course we could always just pick her up and take her with us." Soren said innocently, taking a step towards her.

Misaki backed away from the both of them, finding herself against the counter, "No way. I can get there on my own two feet, thank you."

Soren stopped advancing on her, "So you're coming."

"No...I didn't," He took another step, "Okay, okay!" Misaki held up her hands in surrender, "I'll come."

"Great!" Ike stood up.

Hiei wasn't in the bedroom, he had left some time ago after Ike and Soren came in.

_"I'm here." _Misaki heard him say. She could feel him running through the woods outside and she turned her attention back to the present situation.

"Do I need to carry you?" Ike was asking her.

"No! No, I'm coming." Misaki stepped out of the door Soren was holding open for her.

The two guys flanked her as they walked down the hall to the elevator. They got in it with Ike and Soren playing the question game.

"Statement, one love." Ike said.

"That was not a statement!" Soren protested.

"Exclamation, two love."

"Why was that a statement?"

"Oh, are you talking to me?"

"Did you ask me a question?"

"Is there anyone else around?"

"Does she count?" Soren pointed at Misaki.

"Is she playing the game?"

"Which game?"

"This game."

"Ha! Statement. One to two." Soren triumphantly announced.

"Is she playing this game?"

"Repetition. Two all."

Ike made a face.

"Stalling. Three, two. Game point." Soren smirked.

"What is the meaning of life?" Ike looked philosophical.

"Fault. No relevancy. Game point."

"Why do I always lose this game?" Ike grumbled.

"Do you insist on challenging me every time?"

"Could I beat Nicolai at this game?"

"Would he pay attention long enough to hear the rules?"

"You've got a point there."

"Statement. Game. I win."

"Dang it!"

Misaki listened to them with amused interest.

The elevator stopped soon after the end of the game and the trio stepped outside.

Soren held a palm up as a breeze swept past them. "I can't believe they managed to climate control the area around here." He shook his head.

"That explains it." Misaki nodded, "This temperature seems unnaturally calm. And it's been good weather so far. Where are we going?"

"There's a courtyard around here." Ike looked to the left, then the right.

Soren decided to go with the right and Misaki fell in step behind him.

Misaki noticed that the two of them were strikingly similar to each other and briefly wondered if they were related, brothers even. Include Nicolai in and they could be triplets. Despite Soren's hair being long enough for the small pony tail he wore it in, all three of them had the same basic jaw line and face shape. And they were all unbelievably tall. Add to that the fact that Soren and Ike could finish each others sentences when they wanted to and it was a pretty convincing case.

"Oh no." Soren stopped abruptly and Misaki ran into him.

--

_So of course seeing as how I'm going to be gone, I've left you with a cliff-hanger. What kind of writer would I be if I hadn't, hm? The answer to that is probably 'a good one'. I prefer being 'an evil one' anyway; makes for much more interesting results, you know? Muahahaha. heh heh. ahem._

_Anywho, I put my tribute to the movie 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead' in this chapter: the question game. I pretty much had this chapter all written out about the middle of last year because I had just watched the movie and pictured Ike and Soren as perfect characters for having the tennis-like question game match. I really liked the movie—obviously. And now after typing this up...I want to go and watch it again...grr._

_-lotsm_


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: They're baaack. And if you can name the movie that comes from you get an e-cookie. A chocolate chip one. Anywho, I'm baaack. ... Yeah yeah I can hear you breathing on the other side of that computer screen. I know you're there. ... alright whatever. Here's the chapter.

O/C11: Team Urameshi won their match. That evening Hiei and Misaki mind meld to restore her sanity and so that Hiei can get some sleep. The next day there isn't any fighting and so Soren and Ike claim Misaki so that she can teach them how to put up mental barriers. The two guys take her outside to a courtyard that they told Nicolai to meet them it, but they stop short, seeing something in the courtyard that neither of them like.

--

"Great." Ike crossed his arms, "She wasn't here earlier."

Misaki stepped to the side to see what the two of them were complaining about.

There was a large concrete fountain in the middle of the square courtyard. Small groups of trees were placed in the corners and arches made up the perimeter, except for the wall to their right which was solid. There were wild flowers growing prettily here and there and birds flitted in and out and up and down.

Sitting on the fairly wide edge of the tall fountain was a beautiful maiden with long wavy blonde hair that flowed down her back. She wore a long white robe-dress trimmed with gold.

She held up a hand and a bird alighted on her finger. There were a few birds hopping around the fountain and others on the ground near her feet.

Misaki felt Soren shift into a more defensive position and Ike tensed as well, both of them expecting the worst.

"What's wrong?" she asked them quietly, feeling nothing of the impending attack.

"I don't like her." Ike's eyes fixed on her every move, "I don't know why, but I don't like her."

Misaki could hear the frustration in his voice at not knowing why.

Soren nodded, not even glancing away from her, "I get that same feeling."

Misaki realized that Hiei was no longer moving. He was reclining in a tree, watching the events unfold through her eyes.

The woman turned her head towards them. She had brilliant blue eyes that seemed to compliment and complete her appearance.

She didn't appear hostile.

_"Appearances can be deceiving." _Hiei reminded Misaki.

_"Cliché." _She responded.

_"But often true." _was his warning.

Misaki still didn't think it would be a problem, but she promised to be careful.

To Misaki, the woman's eyes were sad. She was grieving something. Something very painful.

"Stay here." Misaki ordered Ike and Soren.

As she stepped forward, they both came with her holding no intention of letting her anywhere near this blonde woman alone.

Misaki whipped around, "Stay here." She commanded. "If I need you, I'll call."

They nodded after a moment and stepped back.

Misaki started forward again, her hands by her sides but out in the open as if to say she same unarmed.

"Hello." Misaki smiled warmly when she was close enough for the woman to hear.

"Hello Misaki." The woman responded shyly.

The timbre and lilting accent of her voice jogged Misaki's memory. She remembered the heron-winged fellow from the party. Facelle. And there was Dartanianne. Was she their sister? Same blonde hair. Same dress.

"I didn't know that I was so well-known. I've been attempting to keep a low profile." Misaki said to hid her immediate apprehension. If what Soren had said was true, she and the others were the chanters, the herons. Which meant she could possibly kill Misaki with just one note. Misaki sat down on the lip of the fountain, curling one leg under her. _"She seems so fragile. She's...beautiful." _Noticing her seamless complexion, Misaki felt as though she could break her just by sitting next to her.

"My name is Leanne."

"Pleased to meet you Leanne." Misaki said truthfully.

"Your eyes." Leanne said. Seeing Misaki's confused expression she hurriedly went on, "I would have known who you were by your eyes if I had not already known." She was soft-spoken.

_"Facelle must have told her about me." _"I didn't know my eyes were such a dead give away. I really should think about changing the color." Misaki said absently.

"Oh not the color!" Leanne exclaimed, though it was done so quietly that it really couldn't be called an exclamation, "Just...your eyes." She shrugged delicately, unable to describe it any further.

Misaki hesitated before speaking again, "You...seem sad."

Leanne looked away as if she knew her eyes held the truth. A bird landed in her lap and she daintily stroked it. "I don't know why I should trust you." She glanced up at Misaki, searching for something.

"Why shouldn't you?" Misaki countered.

Leanne didn't answer, her eyes falling to the bird who was chirping softly under her finger. It flew away happily. "My brother died...not to long ago."

Misaki knew exactly what Leanne felt, whether the maiden knew it or not.

"We were...very close and I'm afraid of...well I'm the last of my kind now and...it.." Tears began falling into her lap and she put her face in her hands, silently sobbing. Her hair fell over her shoulders and shadowed her features.

_"I hate people who can look pretty even when they're crying." _Misaki took Leanne's hands in her own and forced her to look up.

"I lost a brother too, Leanne. There isn't anything anyone can say that is comforting, believe me, I know."

Leanne squeezed Misaki's hands, "Oh Misaki, I just..." Her eyes became unfocused as if she was listening to something only she could hear.

"Leanne?"

"I'm sorry. I must go. It was wonderful meeting you." She stood, poised and graceful even with the tear stained cheeks. She seemed to float away, her feet hidden by her long clothing.

Misaki watched her go, aware that Ike and Soren had approached and were warily watching her leave.

They only relaxed when they were sure that she was completely gone.

"Well I figured Nicolai might possibly be here by now." Soren sat down by Misaki.

"Though it's not surprising that he isn't." Ike sat down in the soft grass.

"Wait a second..." Misaki frowned. "You guys told me that you're one of the four seeded teams."

"That's right." Soren nodded.

"Then you shouldn't have had a match yesterday." She looked accusingly at them both.

Soren and Ike exchanged depressed glances.

"We are." Ike sighed long-sufferingly.

"Ranked second." Soren sighed too, "But we got a message yesterday morning telling us that we had to fight. It was a private battle. Apparently some wires got crossed and another team was ranked second as well. So instead of finding the papers and sorting things out like normal people, the tournament just had us fight it out with the other team."

"They said 'who ever wins in officially ranked second.'" Ike shrugged.

"And you won." Misaki finished for them.

The two of them rolled their eyes, "Of course we won." They said at the same time.

"Well excuse me for ever doubting you. I heard you almost got beat." She crossed her arms.

Soren shot an accusing look at Ike, "We did." He admitted, "We're no telepaths by any means."

"So it was difficult." Ike glared at Soren.

"But we managed." Soren continued.

"To not get our butts completely ran into the ground." Ike mumbled.

"I haven't had the chance to ask you, Misaki, but are you by any chance familiar with a game called chess?" Soren rapidly changed the subject.

"Chess?" She echoed, allowing him to steer her away from what she assumed was a sensitive subject. Neither she nor Hiei had any recollection of such a game. _"I don't do games." _Was his response. "It sounds familiar. But no."

Soren sighed, "It was worth a try I suppose."

"Oh don't even get him started. He's been looking for a good partner ever since he learned that stupid game." Ike rolled his eyes.

"It isn't as if you volunteered." Soren retorted.

"I can't follow a thing he says when he starts in on this 'chess' thing." Ike spoke to Misaki. "It's all numbers to me."

"And we all know how you hate numbers." Soren added, "I thought we could pass time by playing a game but since you don't know it..."

Misaki frowned, "What is it exactly?"

"Now you'll get him going." Ike said exasperantly.

Soren shot him a look, "It's a game used long ago by humans to teach the ways of warfare. To train in the ways of war."

"Sounds interesting." Misaki admitted, "I've always wanted to start my own war."

Neither Soren nor Ike could tell if she was kidding or not. And Hiei wasn't even sure himself.

"Alright, you're going to start talking about it, Chess Master, I'm leaving." Ike scrambled to stand up.

"Good. Go find Nicolai." Soren said shortly.

Ike grumbled as he left the courtyard.

Soren launched into a detailed account of the origins of chess before he even started on the pieces and movement. After that he moved on to the set up of the board and tactics used.

"I'm guessing this is a little easier when it's seen." Misaki interrupted at one point.

Soren frowned, "I suppose so. Are you interested in playing?"

"Do you happen to have pieces and a board up your sleeve?"

"Not up my sleeve, no." He grinned, reaching into a pocket. He pulled out something and began unfolding it.

"Portable." Misaki noted.

"Made it myself and I don't go anywhere without it." When he was done with it, he placed it between them.

He then showed her everything he had been talking about. Once Misaki felt that she had questioned the eager youkai about every aspect of the game, she agreed to play.

About half-way through the game, the both of them in deep concentration, Misaki felt a presence kneel next to her.

"Ah you are a sight to behold, Misaki." Someone grabbed her hands and pulled her attention away from her the move she was about to make.

Inwardly, Misaki groaned to see Nicolai. She looked at Soren, wanted to be rescued but Soren just grinned and shook his head. Misaki noticed over Soren's shoulder a figure approaching one of the archways at the edge of the courtyard. It was Kurama.

His face was unreadable from that distance but he coldly turned away and started to walk off.

"Kurama!" Misaki got up and made for where he stood. But when she reached the spot, he had disappeared into the forest of trees beyond the archway. Misaki stood, puzzled. He had to have heard her.

Hiei fell asleep sometime during Soren's explanation but he woke at Misaki's concern.

_"Sorry."_

_"Hn. As long as he can still fight." _

"Misaki!"

She turned at her name being called.

"We're all here!" Ike and Nicolai were standing side-by-side looking at her; Soren still sat on the fountain edge.

Misaki walked back to them.

"Are you alright?" Soren asked. The chess set was gone, apparently back in his pocket.

"Yeah. I'm fine." She sat down on the grass. "Have a seat."

Ike and Nicolai sat down across from her and Soren joined them.

--

"Wow. This is really hard." Ike leaned back on one hand, wiping away beats of sweat from his forehead.

The other two guys nodded, relaxing as well.

"You surprise me, Misaki." Soren spoke up.

"Why is that?" She asked calmly.

"You're a very patient teacher." The green-haired man told her, "None of us have any background with telepathic abilities and yet you agreed to assist us."

"And you haven't run away screaming yet." Ike added.

"It's just that, among all of the things that the legend of the Ansatsusha says you are, I never would have thought that the great Misaki,"

"Would make a great teacher." Nicolai finished quietly.

"Hmph." Misaki crossed her arms, "Now, any barrier you'll put up will be minor. A low level telepath without much training, or someone simply skimming your mind will be given problems. But if you face anything like those class A telepaths you fought yesterday, they'll just laugh in your face as they tear through."

"Why will it only be minor?" Ike asked.

"Can't we practice and make it stronger?" Soren asked at the same time.

"Up to a point. You can train all you want but your progress will be limited. Once you reach a certain level, which will be low regardless, you won't be able to proceed any farther. But that's true with practically anything unless you have the inborn ability."

"For example...?" Ike waited for her to fill in the blank.

"For example, Ike you could probably use wind to create a barrier that would protect you from people who are less proficient with wind. But if Soren attacked you, the use of such a barrier would be...well stupid. Your power with wind can never come near to the power Soren has because he was born with that ability and you aren't."

"That's an interesting theory." Soren stroked his chin.

Misaki rolled her eyes, then she stood up and stretched, "Alright. I'm done with you morons."

"Really? Already?" Soren sounded surprised.

"Already? What do you mean already? Look around, it's evening." She gestured to the darkening light around them.

"Huh. So it is." Ike got up, "Well I'm hungry. Let's get some food."

"Sounds good to me." Soren agreed.

"Want to join us, master of masters?" Ike bowed and extended her a hand.

"Yeah go on. I'll catch up in a second." She turned away, moving back towards the fountain. She stared down into the water from a short distance, not wanting to see her reflection.

"Um...Misaki?"

She turned back to see Nicolai standing a few feet from her. She remembered that he hadn't spoken much during the lesson.

For the first time since she'd met him, he seemed hesitant, "I...I'm really sorry. I saw that guy...the red-haired one. But I didn't...I had no idea that..."

"Nicolai...are you okay?"

He bit his lip, "I just...um...I'm sorry that I..."

"Look Nicolai," Misaki said kindly, "I accept your apology, whatever you're trying to apologize for." He was acting decent for once and Misaki responded with equal decency, refusing to insult him while he had that look on his face.

He brightened a little, "Really? ...okay!"

"Shall we go?" Nicolai swept an arm towards the other two, waiting for her to lead.

"Hey, teach! I'm hungry! Could you hurry it up!?" Ike called from outside the arches.

"Ike! If you so much as think of calling me 'teach' again, I swear I'm gonna—"

"You're gonna what, shorty?" Ike looked down at her stomping figure as she approached, unintimidated by the murderous expression across her face.

She pushed him aside, "I don't know yet, but I'll think of something!!"

--

Later that night, Misaki was walking by herself in the woods near the tournament sight. She chuckled quietly, remembering the banter of the dinner conversation.

The three youkai were so much alike, though Nicolai wasn't as gregarious as usual.

Misaki felt as though she sat on the outside, looking in on their conversation.

"Never quite there, never quite gone." Misaki jumped into one of the old trees of the long-standing forest. She easily climbed to the top, perched so that she swayed with the tree when the wind breezed by.

A nearly full moon shone down onto the green sea, casting a strange silver light onto the shivering leaves.

As Misaki climbed back down, her foot slipped on a spot where the rough bark of the tree had been broken off and the trunk beneath was smooth. She suddenly recognized the tree she was in.

--

_"Misaki! You know I hate trees!"_

_An almost younger looking Misaki stuck her head back out of the lower branches which were heavily laden with brilliant green leaves. Perhaps not younger, but more naïve. There were things of the cruel world she had not witnessed yet, loved ones she hadn't lost._

_Her hair was boy cut with a few pieces hanging in her face as she grinned from her precarious position. The short spikes were completely silver, almost an iridescent color that reflected and refracted all light that touch upon it. Her eyes were still green however, just brighter with joy._

_"Brotheeerrr, come on! Even I can protect you from some lame 'ole tree!"_

_Standing on the ground beneath her was someone strikingly similar in appearance. He was male, his eyes gleaming a golden-owlish color flecked with bronze. He crossed his arms, "I am __not__ moving."_

_Misaki laughed and jumped down, "Sure you are!" She grabbed his toned arms—though his whole body with lithe and toned—and pulled him towards the tree's base._

_He wasn't tall, but he wasn't really short either. Green was his favorite color._

_Misaki's eyes got bigger and she stuck out her lower lip, "Pweeeease!"_

_He sighed and flashed a brief smile._

_They looked so alike; same untamed hair, same body structure. Almost twins, though male and female as it were._

_"Oh alright."_

_"Yay!" Misaki immediately released him and scrambled back up the branches._

_"But I still hate trees!" He informed her. She just laughed._

_"What do you hate about trees?" She asked, pausing only briefly to stroke the old trunk before climbing higher._

_"Climbing them," He grunted._

_She glanced down to see him struggling to find a hand hold. They were only half way up the tree but the drop was a long one._

_"Wait till you see the view." She told him._

_A piece of bark snapped from under his foot and he cried out in surprise, losing any grip he had managed to have._

_"Brother!" Misaki shouted, shimmying down as fast as she could._

_He glanced over his shoulder to see the ground fast approaching but suddenly it stopped. He looked back up to see Misaki bracing herself among the branches, her hand grasping his forearm._

_"See? Told yah. Baka tree." she said flippantly, grinning once more. It masked her shortage of breath and her pounding heart._

_He grinned back and took a hold of her arm. Misaki, still braced against the tree, pulled him up until he could grab a branch firmly. He sat down and leaned back against the trunk, Misaki laying down on the wide branch._

_"Hey Misaki!" Someone called from below. A guy was walking for the tree; a guy with a shock of bright pink hair on his head, looking as though he had stuck his finger in a light socket._

_Her brother stuck his head out between the branches, "What?" he asked, sounding just like her._

_"Where's your brother?"_

_"I'm right here!" Misaki stuck her head out next to his._

_The pair laughed merrily as the guy below them came close enough to see his mistake. They jumped down._

_"I hate it when you do that! I always think I can tell you two apart and I'm always wrong!"_

_"It's just 'cause she looks so much like me," He put her in a head lock._

_"Hey!" She struggled against his arm._

_"You know, Misaki, I think you're taking the whole 'imitation is the best form of flattery' thing too far."_

_"Nah." Her brother dismissed the other guy's comment, "It's a compliment." He let her go._

_"You mess up my hair!" Misaki protested, running her fingers through it, though the spikes hadn't been moved an inch._

_The two guys laughed._

_"She even sounds like you!"_

--

Misaki took a deep breath of the cool night air, sitting down and reclining back against the tree on the same branch she had do so on many years ago. _"A good memory at last."_

"This tree must be old."

Misaki opened one eye to see Hiei's shadow had fallen over her. He was standing on a nearby branch, his gaze holding appreciation for the stately forest denizen. Despite the fact that she had known it was him from their meld, habit required the use of eyes.

"It is. If these trees are still the original ones, they're all extremely old." She moved a hand to encompass all of the trees around them.

"You must be old."

Misaki didn't take the bait, "A few centuries younger and I might've considered that an insult." Though she frowned, wondering why everyone seemed to be taking a crack at her age. This just wasn't her week.

Though conversation out loud was obsolete between them, habit still made the words take form on the air, "What made you change your hair?"

"He died." She said simply, watching the leaves whisper above her as another breeze swept through.

Feeling permission from her, Hiei searched for more of an answer. Black. A color of mourning. Her mourning. A constant reminder with silver as a mere echo of what had once been.

He stepped on to her branch and peered down at her eyes, "And yet your eyes remain the same color." He said, satisfied that they were in fact still green.

The dark emeralds that were her eyes closed again and a thin line of pain drew itself across her forehead, "Green was his favorite color." Her sentence was just a whisper among the breeze. She turned her head away, hair shadowing her face but not before Hiei saw the single tear fall down her cheek to her jaw.

"You loved him."

His words pulled emotions from deep within her that he was flooded with. Love, yes. As much love as he carried for Yukina, if not more, for Misaki's bond ran much deeper than blood with her brother.

Misaki abruptly stood as if the reminder of what was lost called for the need to move, much as it had the years she searched for the killer; a need to keep moving as the loss threatened to overtake the senses.

"Hey Misaki!" Someone called from below.

Hiei grabbed Misaki's arm as she briefly lost her balance. That voice sounded so similar to the one that had called out the same words years ago.

Misaki smirked, recovering herself, as it dawned on Hiei the reason why the two voices sounded similar.

_"Her ancestor??" _He couldn't help but exclaim.

Misaki ignored him and jumped down.

"What is it, Genkai?"

The short psychic stood with her arms behind her back, "You fight first tomorrow."

"Against whom?"

"The Shadow Rider." She replied darkly.

"Great." Misaki grimaced.

"Be careful," Genkai turned, "He's changed." She disappeared into the forest.

"Trust me," Misaki mumbled, "I above all people know that."

--

_Man...this one is a little long too. Oh well. Call it my welcome back present...to you...right...whatever. Thanks for reading!_

_-lotsm_


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Another chapter, w00t.

O/C12: Misaki meets Leanne but the girl is called off somewhere and so she leaves. Soren, Ike and Nicolai receive telepath training from Misaki and when she finishes, they all go and eat together. Misaki is wandering around in the forest later and Hiei finds her in a tree, remembering the first time she attended the tournament, with her brother and one of Genkai's ancestors. Then Genkai comes along and informs Misaki that her team is fighting first in the morning. And they are facing Carlisle, The Shadow Rider.

--

"Bracket One, Team Koenma vs. The Shadow Riders. Bracket Two, Team Ike vs. Tides."

Misaki glanced over to the other half of the arena. Ike caught her eye and waved.

"I didn't know he was their team leader." She sounded surprised.

"These matches will be one vs. one. Teams, choose your fighters."

"Where the heck is Kurama?" Misaki said as she took a step forward.

"I will fight the first battle." Kurama appeared out of nowhere.

"Kurama! Where have you been?!?!"

"I am sorry that I was a cause for your concern. Do not trouble yourself any longer." Kurama stepped past Hiei and Misaki to the center of their bracket's half of the arena.

"Kurama you baka—"

"Don't." Hiei held an arm out in front of Misaki as she started after the kitsune.

She stopped, still concerned.

"Fighters ready?" The overhead announcer went on.

Four heads across the arena nodded and the lights went out.

"Round Three, dark based. Begin."

"This can't be good." Misaki made a face.

Four beams of light, just large enough for three people to stand in, shot down from the ceiling around the four teams that stood waiting for their battle. Both Misaki and Hiei were blinded for a moment as the beam encircled them.

"I can't seem anything." Misaki said, peering into the pitch blackness surrounding them.

--

Kurama remained where he was, moving into a more defensive posture, shifting his eyes constantly in all directions. His opponent either masked his spirit energy well or was extremely weak in the first place. Kurama suspected the former.

"Would you honor me with your name, young kitsune?"

One of Kurama's eyebrows arched, "Kurama."

"Yoko Kurama I assume. I wasn't sure as your appearance seems changed but these things only need asking, you know. Well-met, young Kurama."

For someone to consider Yoko Kurama young, they had to be fairly old themselves.

"I always like to know the name of my prey." His opponent went on from somewhere in the darkness.

Kurama smiled, "Might I know the name of my predator?" Kurama was still unable to pinpoint which direction the voice came from as it seemed to stay in constant movement.

"Oh what a well-mannered boy! You don't meet many of those anymore. Maybe I'll let you see me after all. My name is Adominai."

--

"Adominai..." Misaki muttered, "Adominai...there is only one person I know who has that name...but it can't be him."

--

Kurama saw a dark shape about five feet in front of him and braced for an attack.

"Oh dear! Don't do that yet, I'll certainly warn you before I start to fight. It's no fun to sneak attack. I'm not very subtle I'm afraid. Though prey is always better when it's been fighting. Stirs up the blood.

"Alright, I'm coming behind you. I suggest defending yourself."

Kurama didn't move, his eyes still straining in the overwhelming darkness. Suddenly he spun around, pulling out his rose and it transformed into a rose whip on contact with his skin. He lashed out at the dark shape he could barely make out before it disappeared again.

"A rose whip! How lovely! I've always been found of roses. Most people are you know. I have a rose garden in one area of my estates. Alas, you seem to have missed your target. I do wish you would trust me a little more. As I said before, I'm really incapable of being subtle. Alas, you seem to have missed your target. But here I come again! From the left!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Kurama saw the a shape darker than the darkness around it, but it was from his right. He held his rose whip loosely, but waited longer this time for his attacker to draw closer. In the back of his mind, he wondered at the nature of his enemy. Expecting to miss again, Kurama flicked his wrist and the whip snapped into the blackness in response.

"I'm terribly sorry! I just realized that I said left but what I meant was my left! Certainly a horrible mistake I assure you. I was standing in front of you at the time and didn't think a thing about it. Now, now," Adominai went on in a chiding voice, "If you assume you are going to miss, you'll never fail to prove yourself wrong. That was a rather half-hearted attempt. Try again. From the front."

The dark shape appeared again and flew closer. Kurama waited seconds longer than before and then he lashed out again. He felt the whip make contact and the shape disappeared.

"Well done! I do believe you've hit me! Not enough to do any substantial amount of damage I'm afraid. But still, a hit is a hit, don't you think?" His voice was as cheery as ever, even as he announced the wound.

"I think you let me hit you." Kurama answered calmly.

There was an affirming moment of silence before Adominai responded.

"Goodness, I certainly won't can't say anything to the contrary," Kurama placed the voice with something he felt that he would hear if he was in Victorian times, or at the very least, quite proper times, "But it was a nice confidence booster for you. You had the momentary satisfaction of your attack, you can't say that you didn't. I saw the look in your eyes, yes I was close enough for that."

Kurama had to admit that it did feel a little bit satisfying when he hit his mark.

"I do believe this is the most pleasant conversation I've had in a long time."

Kurama thought it wise not to point out that Adominai was the one doing all of the talking.

"Those other two, my partners, they aren't much for words I'm afraid." There was a long-suffering sigh before Adominai continued, "Yes I think I will let you see me before I make my final move. However, I am afraid that after I allow you to..." Adominai's words faded off as if something distracted him. "Oh. Oh my. What is that luscious smell?"

Kurama could hear him sniff the air.

"Is that really you? Fascinating. It's been a long time since I've smelled something that good. In fact there is only one other person I know of that smells..." His voice wandered off again but he quickly drew his attention back to the situation at hand, "I am sorry. It appears that I've drawn blood before I meant to."

Kurama noticed a small cut on the hand that held the whip. He hadn't even felt it until just now.

"You won't last much longer now. You see, that smell, that delicious smell, is perfectly intoxicating to me. It, by my nature, draws me to you. But alas, I have to wait. A promise is a promise. Here I am."

Kurama was suddenly able to see his opponent, even though the heaviness of the dark had not changed.

Adominai was dressed in a similar fashion to a Victorian gentleman, minus a dinner jacket. His sleeves were frilly as was the collar of his white shirt and he wore dark, fitted, suit pants. It was obvious that his clothes were tailored and even his black shoes, which had a slight heel to them, were made to fit him and only him. He was tall, taller than Kurama and his perfect pale skin was almost luminescent, even in the dark. His light blonde hair was tied up at the back of his head in a short ponytail though shorter pieces were framing his face. His deep-amber colored eyes danced with mirth as if everything was an inside joke for him.

All of this flashed for a moment in front of Kurama, and then Adominai was invisible again in the gloom.

--

Misaki was able to catch the glimpse of Adominai as Kurama did and she knew instantly what the man's final move would be.

"Kurama! Move! He's a vampire!" She shouted knowingly as she watched Adominai move forward. Once she knew for sure that it was in fact the Adominai she knew, Misaki was able to track his movements.

Her warning came too late. She had to look on as Adominai fluidly circled his prey with an uncanny amount of speed.

--

Adominai came up behind Kurama and latched one arm around Kurama's waist, taking his wrist in the other. As Adominai squeezed the wrist tighter, Kurama was forced to drop the rose whip.

"I just don't agree with what Carlisle says." Adominai whispered into Kurama's ear even as the blood lust began to gleam beautifully in his amber eyes. Adominai smoothly let go of Kurama's wrist and locked that arm about Kurama's shoulders.

Kurama struggled, trying to free himself from the vice-like grip.

"Yes, struggle. It may hurt more that way, but it does stir up the blood. Makes it rise to the surface." Adominai swiftly used the hand that was across Kurama's chest holding his shoulder to push Kurama's hair and collar out of the way and expose his neck. Diamond-sharp teeth pierced into the jugular and a cry of pain escaped Kurama's lips.

With the fiery pain that began coursing into his veins, Kurama struggled more frantically.

_"Carlisle would just love it if I killed you." _Adominai's voice reverberated in Kurama's head. _"But we can't have him happy now can we, hm? You are an exception to his rule, I believe. Neither do I find any joy in creating a descendant out of you. I sincerely apologize for the pain but it's better than death I must say. You'll have to trust me on that one."_

Suddenly the pain switched from a fire to an ice and Kurama felt his spirit energy quickly draining away. His hands dropped from where they tore at Adominai to free him.

_"However I do need to make it seem like you're dead so he'll leave you well alone. I've never done this before so you should feel special." _He chuckled, _"You won't be 'feeling special' right now because of the pain I'm sure. Unfortunately, this also means that I don't know the side-effects of such a thing. Forgive me. If I had known it would come to this I would have been better prepared."_

Adominai was talking Kurama through most of the pain, whether Kurama realized it or not.

_"Do come visit me sometime at the manor house. I promise that I'm much more hospitable than this. Most of the time." _Here he chuckled again.

Kurama's head sagged and he felt his vision fading in on him. His strength returned as he found Adominai was draining away his life energy as well. But those struggles lasted for an even shorter amount of time. The burning cold sensation coming from Adominai's teeth and mouth was becoming more of a painful buzz.

_"Oh and one more thing," _Kurama barely heard the fading voice as almost all of his life energy was gone, _"I see that Misaki is a member of your team. I would absolutely die with pleasure if you'd bring her with you when you visit. Well...not die of course. Figure of speech, really. I didn't mean...oh never mind. You're out now anyway. See you later!"_

--

Adominai was one of the strongest of the Shadow Riders. While he wasn't a true vampire—human turned monster—he was actually born youkai, in a class of such that were akin to vampires. They could feed on both blood and/or energy. There had been a whole family of them at one time, but a horrible inner war destroyed all but the strongest of them, Adominai. He wasn't the oldest of them, but neither was he the youngest. That didn't matter anyway, seeing as how he was the last. They were capable of killing a victim through taking all blood or all energy away. They were able to create other vampires, but this rarely happened as they are a prideful breed who thinks that no others should be allowed the privilege.

All of this Hiei found stored in Misaki's mind.

The vampire youkai had a good bit of decency in him—considering what he had been born into—and he proved this decency all the more by what occurred next.

The elegant man appeared just shy of the light Misaki and Hiei stood in, holding the unmoving Kurama in his arms. He knelt and placed the red-haired kitsune in front of them, gave a slow deliberate wink to Misaki before bowing and stepping back into the shadows.

Misaki dropped next to Kurama as soon as Adominai was gone.

"He...he's alive..." Misaki whispered, hearing Kurama's heat beating faintly. She put a hand on his chest and felt Kurama breathing steadily, but weakly. There was just a bit of Kurama's life energy left in his body.

"He just made him appear dead. I'm tired of this. The next fight is mine."

"Match Two, fighters step forward."

Misaki didn't move but she spoke up, "If Carlisle steps forward, I claim him, your fight or not." She squinted across the darkness to the pool of light opposite them just in time to see Adominai slide into place. The other man Misaki did not recognize entered the dark.

Knowing that Misaki would wait to battle Carlisle, Hiei moved into the blackness.

Misaki examined Kurama more closely. Her hand found the bite mark and as she touched it, Kurama trembled. She moved his hair away from the bite and his eyes opened as slits, focusing on her.

"Well at least you aren't to far gone." Misaki said quietly, wondering if Carlisle knew Kurama was not dead.

"I'm sorry I'm so much trouble." He managed to say.

"Hush." Misaki put her fingers over his barely open lips, "Save your strength."

He didn't say anything else, but his eyes remained on her.

"You are never any trouble, Kurama," Misaki told him, moving hair out of his face, "You could never be any trouble even if you tried."

Kurama took a small shaky breath as if to say something else but his eyes closed again in exhaustion.

"Baka fox-boy." Misaki smiled a little.

--

"Match begin!"

Hiei knew his eyes would be of no help to him, so he closed them in concentration, allowing his ears to pick up on the slightest sounds.

"Do you prefer to die blind?" Hiei heard a voice from his left.

Hiei didn't grace that with an answer.

"You haven't asked my name." The voice was behind him now.

"A dead man's name means nothing."

Hiei waited, unmoving.

His voice came from a different direction every time and there didn't seem to be a pattern. "And yet oftentimes a live man's name is also of no consequence. And yet mine falls into neither of those categories. I am Vamp."

"You are dead." Lightning fast, the katana came out of its sheath and sliced upwards through what might have been air right in front of Hiei. But it wasn't air.

Hiei listened with disgusted satisfaction at the last gurgling of his enemy. Disgusted because it had been so easy. Was there no one here to challenge him? Sad. _"Not with me in your head, no. It's almost cheating really."_

Vamp's energy signature was unique and it blared out even in the darkness. Once Misaki and Hiei had a lock on it, predicting his next movement shift was simple.

"H-how did you find me?"

"You talk too much." Hiei wiped his katana on a clean spot of Vamp's clothing before sheathing it once more.

Hiei entered the pool of light shortly after that, blinking a couple of times as his eyes adjusted to the abrupt contrast.

Kurama was now laying at the back edge of the light circle and Misaki stood in front of him.

"Carlisle is mine." Misaki's eyes were narrowed dangerously with a look of such intense hatred that Hiei might have flinched back if he hadn't been Hiei. _"Nothing can be done for Kurama while Carlisle is living." _Had Hiei not seen the look on her face, that thought alone would have betrayed her intentions. One of them would not walk off the arena floor alive.

--

_A little shorter than the past two chapters, but hey, you have to even things out somewhere. Thanks for reading!_

_-lotsm_


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: It's really hard to write good fight scenes, I should know: I have done a few. It's so much easier just to be able to see it, like when you watch it in the yuyu anime, or read it in the manga. And there is no way I could ever draw that sort of stuff. What makes it so hard is that you have to describe everything that happens and sometimes words just don't cut it. Despite that, I do enjoy typing them and I hope you enjoy reading them.

I have to put this because I forgot it in the last chapter: Adominai's name is pronounced A-dome-in-I (the 'A' being pronounced like it is in 'fat' meaning rhyme the two)

O/C13: Kurama looses to a vampire youkai named Adominai, who manages not to kill him but makes it seem so by taking almost all of his energy; thus Kurama is pretty much out. Hiei wins his match against another of the Shadow Rider's team, someone by the name of Vamp who really doesn't get much face time as Hiei takes him out rather quickly. And now, it's Misaki vs. Carlisle.

--

"Match Three, deciding fight for Bracket One. Begin."

Misaki started powering up her spirit energy, knowing full well that she was a beacon in the darkness for The Shadow Rider.

She heard Carlisle chuckle, a deep sinister chuckle that had rampaged freely across her mind, "Do you wish to die so quickly?"

"Try me." Misaki dared. She flexed the fingers of her right arm to loosen up the bandages covering it.

"As you wish." He hurtled towards her, powering up at the last instant.

Misaki barely had time to cross her arms over her face to block the blow. He tried to break through her defenses a moment longer, but he dropped his attack, falling back a few steps.

They could see each other now, purposefully. Their energy streamed from them, lighting the darkness and making it obsolete.

Carlisle's eyes flicked to her arm, them back to her face, "I'm glad to see that you've pulled yourself together."

Misaki scowled at him fiercely, lowering her hands a little but constantly vigilant for his next move.

They both lashed out at each other with their spirit energy and it contacted in the small space between them, crackling and fighting in mid-air.

Carlisle flew forwards again, their central auras surrounding their bodies clashing loudly.

Misaki fought back with both energy and body, blocking Carlisle's strikes and retaliating with her own.

They both struggled to engulf the other, prodding constantly to try and find a weak point in the energy around them.

Everyone who had any spirit awareness at all fixed their eyes on that half of the arena.

Ike's opponent stopped in mid-attack to gape open-mouthed at the other side.

"Come on, Misaki." Ike encouraged quietly.

Up at the highest point in the stands, three fair, blonde haired beings with heron wings watched the battle unfold below.

"Please Misaki..." Leanne whispered so that the other two couldn't hear her, "Please lose..." She looked over at her companions and shuddered, but they hadn't heard her.

"How can they see each other?" Kuwabara asked, able to easily see their energy but unable to follow their physical movements.

The huge clashes of their energy would spark and fight on contact, echoing throughout the coliseum.

"You can see them, why can't they see each other?" Genkai had trouble catching all of the punches and kicks the two titans threw.

Yusuke was silent for once, in awe at the power of might of what he was witnessing.

Carlisle grabbed Misaki's bandaged arm and turned it outwards. Misaki bit her lip. Holding back a shout of pain she used his grip as momentum for twisting about and kicking him aside. His hand slipped down her arm until he let go as he was throttled into the air, but his recovery was almost instantaneous and he rebounded quickly, going for her again, giving Misaki only a moment to clutch at her arm before she was forced to use it to block.

As the physical battle wore on, the two of them fought on other levels. Their energy dodged and slammed together, fighting as much as they did. But there was even a third level they battled on.

Carlisle struck at her again with his mind, but she pulled herself back mentally, retreating instantly behind the rock-solid barrier where he could not pursue her. He followed the strike up with a physically blow to her side, landing four good solid punches to various points on her body before she realized it. He delivered a kick to end the combo into her stomach and she was sent flying backwards head over heels. She latched into the ground with her hand, skidding then slowing and finally stopping seconds later, a long line of the floor pulled up by her fingers. She pushed off with that hand for momentum and she came at him again.

Even in the moments when they weren't in contact physically, the constant presence of their energy split the air with deadly precision, aimed hard and true at the other. But they were not ones to have such easy weaknesses and so the energy was only used to try and distract. The cracking noise coming from such attempts continued to echo in the ears of all who watched.

Everyone's eyes were transfixed on the two for minutes, hours, they didn't know. No one could tell how long the opponents ravaged against one another.

But they were equals in every way. These two could not gain an upper hand through any means they so devised. Punch, strike, block, slice, contact, pull back, recover, kick, slice, dodge, roll, hit, attack, counterattack; the effect was almost mesmerizing. These two could seemingly fight for eternity and no one would even notice that an instant of it had gone by.

There was still one weapon Misaki hadn't used. But for the first time in forever, she was hesitant, fearful almost. On the mental front, she remained completely defensive, only blocking his attacks, never striking out with her own.

The Shadow Rider had leant Amureo only a fraction of his power in order to be able to invade her mind. And even then she alone had not been able to find the strength to prevent the intrusion, to prevent him from tearing through her like Hiei's katana through Vamp's flesh.

_"You are not alone." _Hiei surged through her, the connection running deep within them. He knew the situation. He also knew that the two of them would in fact be fighting for practically eternity until one of them dropped dead from exhaustion unless Misaki overpowered him. And there was one last thing she could use. She was still hesitant.

Standing in the pool of light, the Jagan burned away Hiei's bandana as he released its power. It opened and stared forward into the darkness.

A vast amount of telepathic power coursed through Misaki. With the complete strength of Hiei and the Jagan, Misaki unleashed her mind fully and Carlisle reeled back, holding his head briefly in his hands. She struck him again, coming forward with a fist too that connected with his jaw as he looked up at her. His neck popped with the strain.

Misaki sent a barrage of punches towards him but after the first one he blocked the rest. But he was completely on the defensive, on all levels, concentrating on not being overwhelmed.

While keeping him busy physically and mentally, Misaki began gathering every bit of spirit energy within her.

The gathering coliseum crowds had never felt that much power before. And the signature of the energy was unmistakable at such a great concentration. One name started to pass over everyone's lips.

Abruptly the building shook with the torrent of cheers for the infamous being they all knew.

Ike bowed his head and smirked, "She couldn't keep it a secret forever."

"Do you hear that Misaki?" Carlisle laughed.

Faintly over the din of battle, Misaki began to hear the roar of the watchers; the roar that was of her name. Her legend would not be swayed and their shouts grew in number as word spread like wildfire through the tournament grounds.

Adrenaline already rushing with the pulse of the fight, Misaki continued to find new strength with the crowd's chant.

She smiled dazzlingly, "Carlisle dear, you are beaten." She took a step forward, driving him back with her presence, energy and mind, "I intend on wiping that silly little smirk off of your face even if I'm forced to pummel your head into the ground."

"Oh but I have you figured out, Misaki sweetheart."

Their pet names for each other came not from any romantic background; it was more like a taunting phrase.

Misaki pushed her form to the limits, feeling her molecules dancing farther and farther apart. They sang to her, buzzing with almost maximized energy; at least the max energy they could take and still keep her substantial. She found that the newfound power that was locked away which she had accidentally released on Amureo was in fact at her beck and call. She delved into it, not wondering for an instant why The Shadow Rider was withstanding her assault.

Two entities whose names she'd never forgotten pulsated within her, lending her their limitless power. They had died for her the second time she had come to the Tournament of Threes, dying to give her their strength.

Misaki's atoms threatened to pull apart her solid form and yet she continued to let the energy flow out into the air around her.

The crowd grew hushed as the power continued growing. They felt the foundations of the coliseum shifting and quaking beneath them but they were frozen to their seats.

In just a split second of time, Hiei questioned how much good he was doing. He realized that he was in fact Misaki's anchor to her human form, keeping her from completely pulling apart. He felt separated from the absolute force with which she was attacking Carlisle. The answer came to him that if he was connected to that force, it would utterly consume him and he would no longer exist; with just a slight adjustment, such a thing could happen.

Carlisle laughed again and his eyes began to glow a throbbing red color.

Misaki knew she was triumphant; her spirit energy was encircling and choking his away.

She drew back her arm and landing a blow to his chest with such force that his black trench coat ripped along the bottom and on the cuffs, rippling madly behind him.

His clothes flapped and waved as though he was standing up against a torrential wind storm, feet planted firmly in the ground and forearms crossed in front of his face.

"You always make one fatal mistake, Ansat." He spat.

Misaki's anger erupted at the insulting abbreviation of her name, her might responding in kind and shooting higher. She paused briefly though at his unstrained statement. He was not being affected.

"You have a tendency to create ties to this world that you do not belong in." He went on acidly but with a sense of success in his words.

The Elements were not meant to be of the world, they could not interfere. She and Hiei's mind rushed thinking of people of the human, spirit and youkai world that she knew and cared for over the years. And eventually lost. There was sound reasoning behind Elements not becoming involved. They left behind those they became close to, moving on but oftentimes outliving them. The pain and sorrow greatly outweighed what little good they could do by concerning themselves with those who were not of their own.

Misaki didn't notice Carlisle's eyes flicking over to where Hiei stood. She almost had him covered completely, his defenses breaking off.

The Shadow Rider took the meld between Hiei and Misaki in his mental grasp and snapped them apart.

Time seemed to stop as the effect of the sudden split took its toll.

Hiei dropped lifeless to the ground, his mind completely empty. The Jagan's howl rang throughout the minds of all within a ten mile radius and then it fell silent. Hiei's brain was no longer able to tell his lungs to breath or his heart to beat so entwined had his mind been in hers.

The people in the stands weren't able to focus because of the Jagan's screech which rattled them to the core.

After that, time unfroze and Misaki's hand was around Carlisle's throat. Her eyes were white again and her hair billowed around her head.

"And you always make the same fatal mistake, Shadow Rider." Three voices spoke out of Misaki's lips.

Carlisle realized that his move did not have the effect on Misaki that he had thought it would.

Misaki's molecules were no longer cheering with joy in their power; they screamed in agony and longed to rip themselves apart.

"Underestimating me." She engulfed his energy.

Hellfire, The Shadow Rider. Carlisle. He was being burned by Misaki's anger. And yet, she was unable to find a desire within herself to kill him. She held on, taxing his strength, making him helpless. She felt her molecules begin to drift around her and her substantiality wavered.

What had changed him? She did not know. At one time, The Shadow Rider had been a completely different person, though still just as much trouble.

Carlisle would be out for a few days, but he would survive.

Misaki released him and he fell face down, immobile.

"Bracket One, match over. Team Koenma victors. Bracket Two, match over. Team Ike victors."

The lights came back on and a gasp went up from the crowd. Misaki Ansatsusha lay defeated on the floor.

--

_Holy cow. Okay so I've found that all of the chapters in the ToT series are like three thousand words long...my average in Ansatsusha was like 2500...no wonder this series is going to be shorter. Therefore, I have ended the chapter here. Yes it is a lot shorter but I mean come on, the cliffhanger is perfect. Too perfect. So I had to end this chapter here. Haha._

_It's a big insult for Carlisle to shorten Misaki's title to simply 'Ansat'. Why? Well Ansatsusha means assassin and so ansat... Do you get it now? Right. And shortening a title to produce such an insulting term is a big deal. Because I say it is._

_-lotsm_


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Nuthin' to say, yo.

O/C14: Carlisle and Misaki duke it out. But guess who's lying on the floor in the end...

--

"I can't believe it!" Kuwabara said, "How could she lose?!"

The legendary legend was lying face down on the floor at the feet of the victor.

"She must have used up all her energy in that last attack and fainted from the effort," was the words passed around the coliseum.

A white-haired, white-eyed woman stood over the body.

Across from her, Adominai nodded once and he and Misaki's body disappeared.

"You dolt," Genkai said quietly to Kuwabara, "Didn't you hear the announcement? Misaki won. She's still standing there. She made Carlisle look like her so no one will bother her for the rest of the tournament."

"Well that's pretty smart."

"Yes. It is."

"Hey wait..." Yusuke looked confused, "Didn't Koenma call the Misaki's team, Team Ansatsusha?"

Genkai nodded, "Misaki talked with the head of the tournament the night of the banquet and among other things, she asked the name to be changed to 'Team Koenma' so that no one would know it was her."

"...why?"

"Do you realize what kind of an uproar that would cause? She would have no peace."

"Oh."

"Come with me. We fight next." Genkai turned away.

"But what about Kurama and Hiei and Misaki?" Kuwabara asked, "Shouldn't we go and help them?"

"They'll be fine. They can take care of themselves. We on the other hand do not want to be late. Come."

--

Misaki mechanically made her way back towards her teammates. Feeling drained, she knelt beside Hiei and gave him a bolster of energy for his brain to start again.

With great effort, Kurama sat up a little, "Will he be okay?"

"Yes." He would be okay, but Misaki wasn't sure what he would remember or how okay he would be. "Get up Hiei."

Hiei stood up at her command. He was unable to think for himself and would be so for a while.

Misaki offered Kurama a hand up and she supported most of his weight.

"Follow us Hiei." Misaki said, helping Kurama walk off the field.

They mercifully made it back to the room without incident.

"I thank you for the assistance." Kurama took his arm back from over Misaki's shoulders, "But I believe that I can—" His legs collapsed as he tried to take an independent step forward. Misaki caught and steadied him.

"I'm sorry, I thought I..." His eyes closed again and Misaki felt the full weight of his relaxed body as she held him up.

"Hiei, take him to Koenma."

Hiei took Kurama from her, though as the kitsune was bigger than he it was almost comical, and awkwardly sped off.

As soon as the two left, Misaki fell onto the couch in despair.

There was no peace for those who broke the covenant of the Elements, and yet Misaki was forced to, required to do so. Having ties to a world where one did not belong merely brought pain upon others and thus on oneself.

Anyone who got remotely close to her was either killed, or worse reverted to nothing more than a robot. Death was a kinder end in that respect. The countless acquaintances, friends more like, that Misaki met...they were forever changed by her presence. And always died because of it.

Even her brother, whom she had a right to know, even he was killed, and only because of his association with her, she was sure.

And she missed Hiei's constant presence in spite of herself. He was just so...Hiei.

--

"Do we have to fight in the dark too?" Yusuke made a face.

"Didn't we do that already at Genkai's house?"

"Yeah..." Yusuke sighed, "And grandma doesn't have any cigarettes this time."

Genkai snorted.

Three humans stepped out onto the other side of the floor.

"Wow...they have no spirit energy at all." Kuwabara was surprised, "How did they make it this far?"

"They probably have some cheap trick up their sleeves. Not that they're wearing any sleeves." Yusuke noted.

"Heh. Actually thinking ahead for once, dimwit? I'm stunned."

"Shut up, grandma."

The darkness was turned on and the four beams of light came down from the ceiling once more.

"Brackets Three and Four, Round Three, Battle One, choose your fighters." The announcer announced.

"I'll go first." Yusuke stretched his shoulder out and stepped forward.

"No Urameshi! Team leaders always go last!" Kuwabara's eyes got the shiny honor-gleam in them, "Their battle is always the greatest and most grueling."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. That's not in the rules." Yusuke moved out of the light.

"But Urameshi!" Kuwabara protested.

"You'll live." Yusuke dismissed him with a hand as he disappeared into the blackness.

"The leader's battle is always the longest and the best and...and..." Kuwabara faded off, beginning to smile, "I guess that means I get to be the team leader. I volunteer to fight last." He pointed at himself.

"I heard that Kuwabara! You'll be team leader over my dead body!" Yusuke shouted back through the dark.

Kuwabara grumbled to himself.

"Battles, begin!"

--

"Hey you!"

Yusuke glanced around, completely blind.

"My opponent...you're there, right?"

"Um, yeah." Yusuke answered.

"Look, I can't see a thing without light. I can't even see my hand in front of my face."

Experimentally, Yusuke wiggled his fingers in front of his nose, but he had no luck with seeing them. "And?"

"Well, what I guess I'm asking is, do you mind if I turn on some light?"

"Ehheh, actually I don't mind. I can't see anything either." Yusuke admitted.

"Good, good. Just though I'd better ask," it began to grow slowly lighter somehow, or at least, Yusuke was slowly able to see in the darkness around him, "If it was giving you an advantage, then the darkness would have a point."

"Nope. No advantage here." Yusuke began searching for his enemy.

"Ah. Much better."

Yusuke peered forward into the light gloom and he could just barely make out a dark shape almost directly across from him, about fifty feet away.

"So you need more light. Easy enough."

It brightened more until Yusuke could easily make out his opponent.

"There we go." The man across from him was wearing fairly plain, non-descript, loose clothing; a cloth shirt and pants with a rope tied around his waist like a belt.

"Oh! Urameshi, isn't it? Yusuke, am I right?"

"Yeah. Seems I'm pretty well known."

"Well you are the only other team with three humans on it in this tournament, ha ha ha!" His laugh was rich and big, like his body, "I have a proposal for you and your teammates."

"I'm listening."

"The name's Karukinae." Karukinae flipped a piece of black chalk up into the air with his thumb, catching absently while he talked. "I draw a circle twenty feet in diameter and we step inside. The first man who steps out of the circle must forfeit and the next two fighters come into the circle. Then the last two. How does that sound."

"Interesting," Yusuke nodded, "Anything goes?"

Karukinae nodded back, "Yup. Any means necessary to get the other person out of the lines. If it ends up that someone is dead, all the winner has to do is drag one little pinky over the chalk."

Yusuke shrugged, "Sure, why not. Any objections?" He aimed the last part back at Genkai and Kuwabara.

"As long as nobody pulls anything fishy." Kuwabara said, narrowing his eyes.

"I'm a fellow human, remember? Worthy enough to meet in battle." Karukinae grinned and put up the chalk.

"What are you waiting for?" Yusuke wanted to know.

"Har har! What are you waiting for? You aren't in the circle."

Yusuke looked at his feet to see that the circle was already in place and that twenty feet away stood Karukinae inside the black line.

"Woah. He's fast." Kuwabara blinked. "Real fast."

"Kuwabara you numbskull, he had that line drawn beforehand." Genkai told him.

"I'll let you make the first move." Karukinae said.

"Heh. Wrong choice." Yusuke pointed his hand-gun at Karukinae. "Shotgun!"

"Nobody told me you had a shotgun. Where on earth did you hide it?"

"Wha...what??" Yusuke held his finger up to his face. He felt the spirit energy inside him—it was at full power thanks to a good night's rest—and yet there wasn't even a blue gleam on the tip.

"Alright, what's up with that?? I said no fishy stuff!!" Kuwabara yelled threateningly.

"What are you talking about?" Karukinae seemed genuinely confused.

"My spirit energy's there, I just can't tap into it." The struggle was obvious on Yusuke's face.

"Spirit energy?" Karukinae frowned.

"What? You can't tell me this guy doesn't know about spirit energy!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"Amazing. Simply by not believing, or in this case not knowing, this Karukinae person negates spirit energy. Kuwabara, try summoning your sword." Genkai said.

Kuwabara concentrated, gazing intensely at his hand for a minute. He finally stopped, breathing hard, "Nothing at all! Not even a spark!"

"Precisely." Genkai nodded curtly, "It'll be muscle against muscle in these battles. And I'm afraid that if Yusuke can't even use spirit energy to put power behind his punches like he always has. It seems that the dimwit is at a disadvantage."

Karukinae was easily four times bigger than Yusuke. They grappled one another's arms in an attempt to set the other off balance.

"You've got a pretty good grip there, boy." Karukinae grunted.

Yusuke grinned, "Not bad yourself."

"But...anything goes!" Karukinae slipped his arms around Yusuke and deftly removed himself from Yusuke's grasp. He planted his massive hands firmly on Yusuke's shoulders and lifted him into the air, tossing him aside like a small sack of potatoes.

Yusuke landed roughly on the ground...outside of the circle.

"What?! That's insane!!" He got up.

Karukinae rested his hands on his hips as he threw his head back and laughed, "HA HA HA! Occasionally it pays to be the biggest and strongest!"

"I told you Urameshi! You shoulda waited until last!" Kuwabara shouted.

"Shut up Kuwabara!!" Yusuke dusted his pants off angrily.

"I'll send Pihacho out." Karukinae walked back towards his team's beam of light.

A small man whom they assumed to be Pihacho stepped to the edge of the circle.

"Wow! He's small!" Kuwabara flexed an arm muscle, "Yeah I'll take him on!" He ran to the circle, thinking about using the same move Karukinae just made on Yusuke.

"Thought you wanted to be last." Yusuke muttered darkly as he stood next to Genkai.

"Don't judge someone based on his size, baka." Genkai crossed her arms, "With that attitude, I expect us to be out of the tournament this round."

As if in response, a body flew past her ear and hit the wall behind her. She sighed audibly, shaking her head. "Baka."

"I...I can't believe it!" Yusuke stared open mouthed at the wall and his head snapped back to the chalk ring.

Kuwabara stood frozen in surprise, his arm still extended in his punch. He had circled around Pihacho and landed a solid punch on the small man's face.

"Heh. I stand corrected. Even a blind pig can find the trough once in a while." Genkai stepped forward to exchange places with Kuwabara.

Kuwabara dumbly came by Yusuke, still in shock at how easy it had been.

Yusuke's jaw was still slacked, "...how did these guys get this far?"

"We got lucky." The third and final fighter stepped towards the ring, "Or rather, one of them got lucky and I pulled through at the last."

"Don't flatter yourself. Everyone knows that the tournament picks this year have been lacking. And since you are one of the four seeded teams, you've only had to fight in one round so far."

The new opponent seemed irked, "I never said anything to the contrary. Let's begin." He stepped inside the circle. "Your move."

Genkai remained where she was. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary; which to her meant that something was wrong. She waited for a moment, and then with her hands behind her back, walked forward until she was directly in front of him.

He looked down at her with mild curiosity.

"Zao, what are you doing?" Karukinae called, confused.

"Calm down," Zao looked over his shoulder, "I've got everything under—"

Genkai's fist met with the side of Zao's face.

Zao stumbled back and Genkai advanced, landing several more punches on his body. He couldn't get his defenses up and Genkai continued her assault. She pulled her arm back in a punch that would send him out of the ring but he caught her hand.

Genkai's eyes narrowed briefly and she followed with her other fist to quickly for him to block. Zao was sent flying backwards where he hit a wall and fell face down.

"I hate cocky slackers." She landed smoothly back on the ground.

"Woo! Yeah! Go grandma!" Yusuke celebrated form the sidelines, "You opened up a can of—"

"Urameshi, shut up."

The seriousness of Kuwabara's voice stopped Yusuke in mid-sentence.

"He didn't get knocked outside of the ring."

"What?" Yusuke saw that Zao had landed within the drawn boundaries.

"He hit some sort of invisible wall and then fell," Kuwabara's look was murderous, "You said no funny stuff!" He yelled across the arena at Karukinae.

Karukinae shrugged but he was frowning.

Zao stood and shook his head, chuckling, "For me, such a boundary is one that I cannot escape from."

Genkai sighed to herself, "I really need to retire so I don't have to deal with these bakas."

His laughter reached insane-like proportions then died down again until all that remained was a smirk, "Come at me, hag."

Genkai restrained herself. Instead she moved to her right and to the edge of the ring. She deliberately put a toe on the line and slowly tried to erase the mark.

Zao watched her, a bored look on his face, "It's futile. It can't be erased from the inside. Not by the people it's containing."

There had to be some way Zao was let out at the end of the battle. The answer seemed simple enough: one of his teammates came over and erased part of the chalk. And if his teammates could erase it from the outside then...

"Yusuke, would you mind?" Genkai asked, still facing Zao.

"Hm." He walked up to the edge of the chalk mark and bent over it.

"Urameshi, what are you doing?!"

"I'm gonna erase part of the chalk so that Genkai can win."

"But that's cheating!!" Kuwabara ran forward.

"Oh yeah?" Yusuke put his hands in his pockets, "Says who?" He placed his heel on the line and began scrubbing it away. "Wait...what the..." The line wouldn't come clean.

Zao chuckled again, "Only the only who draws it can erase it." He went into another mad fit of laughter.

"I would think that there should be more camaraderie within a team." Genkai noted.

"Camaraderie? Haha! That's rich! It's much easier when you force them to do what you want them too."

Genkai took off toward him and jumped in the air. She pulled back her arm at the last second.

Zao's eyes widened with insane pleasure, "Hit me."

--

_Ah, sweet sweet cliffhangers._

_-lotsm_


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Yarg. Sorry that this has taken a while to come out. I haven't had the chance to sit down in front of the computer for the past few days. And I left you with such a good cliffhanger...ha. Enjoy.

O/C15: Misaki defeats Carlisle and now it's Team Urameshi's turn. They agree to fight within a ring of chalk, the loser being the first to step out of the line. Yusuke finds out that none of them can use their spirit energy, though the other team actually has none. Yusuke is thrown out by a really big human named Karukinae. Kuwabara throws out a really small human named Pihacho. And Genkai faces a half-crazed man named Zao. But Zao is unable to be thrown outside the ring. She runs at him, arm pulled back for a hard driven punch...

--

Genkai spun her body around, bringing her leg up and landing her foot at his neck.

Zao was sent flying to the left and he landed. Outside the ring. He shook himself, looking around dazedly.

"But...I...it...??"

Part of the circle had been erased.

Karukinae walked over and easily picked Zao up by his collar. Pihacho was sitting on the large man's shoulder.

"I apologize for his behavior. Best wishes to you." Karukinae carried Zao off.

"Team Urameshi, advancing to the next round!"

Yusuke and Kuwabara ran up to Genkai who was watching the others leave.

"How did you manage that one?" Yusuke wanted to know.

"Not everyone on that team needs a padded room." Genkai walked between the guys to leave.

"Yeah..." Yusuke frowned, "Wait. What?"

The two of them followed after her.

Kuwabara sighed, "Does she have to explain every detail to you? Karukinae is an honorable man. When he saw that his teammate was being dishonorable, he put a stop to it."

"But I never even saw him move to erase the line!" Yusuke protested.

"Doesn't mean he didn't do it." Genkai responded.

She stopped in mid-stride. "If I remember correctly, there is an arcade here on the grounds..."

"Sweet!" Kuwabara said.

"And it's free credits for any competing team."

"Woo-hoo! Lead the way, grandma!"

--

There were a few youkai scattered about the arcade. Most of them consisted of members of teams who had lost already. And of course, Genkai, Kuwabara and Yusuke were the only humans.

"Woooo!" Kuwabara and Yusuke ran inside, fighting to get by each other.

Genkai strolled in more casually, pursuing out the game choices.

The arcade was quite extensive, carrying all of the most popular games from the human world, as well as older games Genkai hadn't seen since she was young. And yet there were others that she'd never heard of before.

There was a group of particularly rowdy youkai surrounding one game. They were cheering for someone but they were all bunched closely together so Genkai was unable to see who exactly they were cheering for. She was drawn towards them.

"Oo! Watch out!"

"Niiice!"

"Oh cool! Do that again!"

Genkai weaved her way to the front of the crowd. At times, being of small stature was in fact a great advantage.

"And that, my friends, is how you beat the unbeatable game." The youkai sat back a little from the game screen, triumph apparent on his face.

"That was a sweet move!"

"I can't believe that actually worked..."

"Do it again, show me it!"

"I wanna learn how!"

"That was amazing!"

"How long did it take you to perfect that move?!"

"I admire your attempt but your timing was all wrong."

The surrounding youkai gasped and looked around at each other. But everyone just shrugged, they would never diss such a cool guy.

As the youkai who had played was at a slightly lower level, when he swiveled around in his stool he saw the old psychic standing with her hands together behind her back.

"Ah, an old ningen hag thinks she knows so much." He laughed and the others laughed with him, "There are some nice old games over there for you to play. None of this youkai stuff for you."

The crowd was silent. A few of them had recognized the old woman, but apparently the youkai in front of her did not.

"Uh...Jacka...that's...um...that's..."

Jacka waved a hand to silence the person trying to warn him. "Well? Go one. Go off to your little games."

Ignoring him, Genkai sat down in the stool next to him, the group of youkai stepping away to make their bunch big enough to fit another game screen in it.

The joystick and buttons felt like old friends in Genkai's hands. The game started up...and ended mere seconds later.

Jacka's eyes were wide, "H...how did...ehem. I mean..." He cleared his throat and tried not to look too amazed.

"There's a glitch in this particular game. In the time it took you to perfect your final move, you could have figured that out." Genkai got up and the youkai let her pass through them as she moved on to a more challenging game.

"Who is that?" Some of his awe crept in with his words.

"Genkai." Somebody murmured.

Jacka's eyes grew wide, "The Psychic?" He was glad to be walking away with all of his bones intact.

--

Hiei ran swiftly back through the woods. His mind was beginning to work again and he recalled everything up until a few days ago. He knew that he was at a tournament, he knew that Kurama was hurt. But try as he might, he was unable to fully remember everything.

He absently dodged undergrowth, occasionally leaping into a tree for safer passage from branch to branch.

The Jagan was greatly weakened by something and he could barely feel its normally strong presence within his mind. He even felt weakened, mentally. It was as if part of him had been stolen away somehow.

Suddenly he was struck down and he fell from the tree in which he was passing through, hitting the ground with an unhealthy thud. But the attack had not come from outside his body; it came from within his head.

Hiei felt himself being painfully sucked away and as his eyes closed, his inner vision cleared.

--

_He saw Misaki a hundred feet in front of him—or rather he saw her back as she wasn't facing him—her clothes torn and bloodied. He yelled her name but it was as though she didn't hear him. She was attacked again by something he couldn't see. But it was huge. And it was killing her._

_Something contacted the side of her head and she dropped to the floor, crashing ungracefully. She weakly struggled to stand, but she was hit again. Blood was pouring from her ear on that side._

_Hiei yelled her name again, trying to get her to look his way. He moved forward, running for her, intending to fight back whatever it was, help her by getting her to stand, something, anything. But he never got any closer to her. And she was too far away to help._

_Her body was lifted off of the ground into the air where she hung helplessly, legs and arms dangling so very limp. Something began crushing her, squeezing her, tighter and tighter. She screamed into the whiteness that made up the unseen scenery around them. She screamed something, a name. But Hiei couldn't make it out. He ran faster, his legs never having failed him before. Despite the speed he absolutely possessed, his feet were somehow not moving in her direction._

_She fell to the ground again, but this time, she was dead._

--

Hiei was snapped back into reality as fast as he had been pulled out of it. For a moment he couldn't remember anything. Then it all came rushing back. Everything. The tournament, the fights. And...Misaki. Dead.

The rational part of him worried about losing the teammate. Would they be forced to resign the tournament?

The other part of him frantically used the Jagan to make a wide sweep of the area to get his surrounding.

Luck had it that he felt Misaki's presence. It was far away, but it was there. He began running, for the first time in his life acutely aware of his speed and how much he owed to it.

As he sought her out, he realized that her presence was faint. And he ran faster, leaves and branches mere blurs as he easily sped through them.

Hiei almost dashed past her, but he skidded to a stop and whipped around, landing on the forest floor and rushing to her side.

She lay flat on her back, eyes staring straight up.

"Misaki?"

She was very much alive, but her breathing was irregular, her heart rate sporadic.

He barely caught her brief glance in his direction, acknowledgement that she had heard him.

Hiei's hand, around her wrist where he checked for a pulse, felt the strange tightness of the muscle beneath his fingers. He felt her arm and her neck, finding that every muscle was strung to an extreme point of tautness. That explained why she couldn't move.

He reached through the Jagan to her mind, intending to ask what happened but her mental barriers were stronger than ever before and he had no success.

"Misaki what happened?" His frustration was obvious in the way he spat the question out loud.

He growled, realizing that she couldn't answer anyway.

Angrily, he grabbed her wrist again, using his inborn heat to coax the muscles loose.

The fire quickly spread throughout her body, though it was several minutes before she was able to move so much as a finger.

"Now. What happened?" He was sitting on the ground.

It was a long while later and she was propped up against a tree trunk, massaging her throat to get the neck muscles looser.

She shook her head, indicating that she still couldn't speak.

Impatient, Hiei reached over and put a hand around her neck. She flinched but he quickly rid the last rigidness with more heat.

Misaki stood up, stretching her bandaged arm and hand.

"I didn't call for help." Her voice rasped with anger.

"So you were just planning on laying there." Hiei crossed his arms.

"Eventually I would have been fine."

He snorted in disbelief, "In time for tomorrow's match? Doubtful."

"As doubtful as you recovering use of your arm?" Her strength was returning.

Hiei almost grimaced, remembering the trouble his arm had given him at the Dark Tournament. In particular, he remembered dropping to his knees clutching said arm on a remote cliff overlooking the sea. He somehow knew this was the incident she was recalling out of his memories.

"You may have cried out in pain, but sure enough the great Hiei wanted no help. And yet without a sound, I receive assistance. I desire the same distance and am denied such a thing." Her words were brutal and cutting.

Why had he come? The help certainly wasn't welcome.

"Baka onna." He scowled.

"Same to you."

What was her problem? Something was wrong, as if the distant look in her eyes didn't confirm that.

"Misaki, I had a vision of some sort..." Perhaps she'd explain it. Maybe it came from a memory of hers that he retained from their meld. The Jagan prompted him to ask if such a meld is possible once more and as much as he surprised himself by actually toying with the notion. He wanted other answers first however.

"Hmph. I certainly hope I wasn't a party to this vision." Misaki would have left by now but her legs were protesting her standing and she didn't think she would get very far.

"You were in it. That's why I'm mentioning it."

"Great. You know what? I don't care."

"Shut up and listen for once."

There was obvious indignation present on her face but the tone of his voice and the words had the desired effect. She bit back a retort and waited, though certainly still irked.

"You were being killed."

She scoffed but Hiei glared daggers at her and she said nothing.

"I couldn't see what it was, and neither could I see where you were."

"Thanks. Next time I see a big glob of nothing, I'll be sure and avoid it." She turned away, only to find him standing in front of her, frowning, arms still crossed.

"What aren't you telling me?" His sharp gaze saw the knowing expression pass over her face as soon as he mentioned her dying.

"There's nothing I'm not telling you."

The look her gave her said something like 'I'm not stupid.'

She rolled her eyes, "It was just a memory. You probably took it back with you and it just now surfaced."

"Liar."

Her eyes grew more guarded, an indication that he was correct.

She sighed, a bit of fatigue lining her face, "Look, it was nothing. All we need to worry about is the tournament."

"And your immobility. That was nothing too, right?" Distrust covered his body.

"I didn't ask for your help," She snapped, reminding him, "Frankly, I didn't want help."

He tried to think of the best way to ask her what the Jagan had requested, still blocking her escape.

"Hiei I..."

Something in her voice made him look at her.

"We can't." She corrected herself, knowing exactly what he wanted to ask of her. She reached towards him but dropped her hand. It was such a fast and fleeting movement, Hiei wasn't sure if it happened.

_"Because you can't get hurt again. You almost died. I don't want any more people getting hurt, dying." _She sighed again inwardly, _"And yet...just knowing me is reason enough for that to happen. Well I won't give fate any more reason. Not for you. Not for anyone."_

She just shook her head, slowly walking in the opposite direction.

Hiei watched her for a moment before leaving.

--

"You are the four semi-finalist teams of the Tournament of Threes. Team Ike. Team Urameshi. Team Koenma. Team Lanora."

The four teams of three stood in a line in the middle of the arena about mid-morning of the next day, having been told that something 'special' was happening.

"Where is Kurama?" Misaki said quietly, looking around anxiously, almost missing the happy wave that came from Team Ike aimed at her. She half-heartedly returned it.

"Will we be disqualified?" Hiei wanted to know, surveying what competition was left. The only team he didn't know was Team Lanora, but it consisted of Leanne, Dartanianne, and Facelle. The delicate freaks didn't appear to be of any competition and in order to have made it this far...it didn't seem like such a great feat considering who all was present at the invitation tournament.

"No. The fights will just fall to you and me, unless Kurama makes it. How did he seem when you left him?"

"Not sure." He didn't exactly remember the incident.

"There is consistently an infamous 'twist' and now is the time for such a thing." The way the unseen announcer's voice sounded, they were probably smiling. "You will be placed in a maze and the order of which you finish said maze will determine your opponent for the semi-finals."

Suddenly, the four teams found themselves at the beginning of what they would only assume was the maze. The walls were an ominously deep red color and only there were only three entrances into the maze, one straight, one to the left and one to the right.

"If you don't finish within the required time limit, you will be eliminated. Begin."

--

_Ah that's more like it. I prefer being around 2500 words if I haven't said that enough already._

_Thanks for reading!_

_-lotsm_


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Alright. So I haven't had a chance to get on the computer every night like I have been. Coupled with the fact that I don't actually have anything written up anymore (so far I've been following scripts that I wrote a while back) equals my excuses for not posting a chapter every day. And I can only offer assurance that the time between chapter postings will probably only get longer as I'm steadily getting busier. Oh well. Just wanted to get all of my excuses out now and not have to mention them later.

O/C16: Team Urameshi successfully wins their third match. And they decide to celebrate by going to the arcade. Woo arcade! Genkai shows up some cocky youkai named Jacka while she's there. Meanwhile, Hiei, on his return trip from dropping Kurama off with Koenma, has a vision of Misaki dying. He finds her immobilized but very much alive somewhere in the middle of the forest. Her muscles are tightened, thus making it impossible for her to move. He relaxes them with heat, and she gets mad at his interference, reminding him that he hadn't wanted help while dealing with his arm during the Dark Tournament. Anyway, the next day all four semi-finalist teams convene at the coliseum, only to find that they will have to complete a maze within a set amount of time and the speed with which they complete it will determine who they battle in the semi-finals.

--

Team Ike, with the three men in perfect stride with one another, took off to the left entrance which was nearest to them.

Ike winked back at Misaki, "See you on the other side!" Then he and the other two disappeared around a corner.

Team Lanora, their blonde hair streaming behind them and their white dress-robes doing the same, dashed off to the right at the same moment as Team Ike.

"Alright. Come on." Misaki said to Team Urameshi, running to the final entrance, the one that went straight.

The six members of the two teams ran together into the maze.

Misaki found that Kurama and Hiei were flanking her.

"Kurama!" She exclaimed, never breaking stride.

"So it seems." He smiled at her.

"Are you okay?"

He hesitated, "I admit that I still feel a bit strange, but other than that I appear to be fine."

"No over-exerting yourself." She ordered.

"Yes doctor." His eyes danced and a small smile touched his lips.

"I mean it. This place will get crazy, I'm sure. I won't have you collapsing on me."

"Yes doctor." His voice was perfectly serious.

"Are you sure we shouldn't have taken a different path?" Genkai asked her.

"I know exactly where are." Of course she had no idea. The maze was bound to have changed since the first time she came.

They followed the path as it led them, a turn to the right, a turn to the left. Finally they came to a large door frame with no door in it that opened into a room and Misaki stopped as she came into the room, the others close behind.

They looked around, all expecting an attack or a similar occurrence.

Something was wrong with the room.

"Yusuke, don't step forward!" Misaki shouted as Yusuke put his foot down.

He turned to face her, "There's nothing here."

"Famous last words," She smacked a hand to her forehead.

Everyone heard a distinct 'click' and the floor opened up, sending the six of them plummeting down.

Misaki dropped through the air for a while, finally smacking face-down onto the floor. Her ribs felt as though they might have been bruised from the impact and she was lucky not to have a broken nose. Something landed on top of her and she knew for sure that at least one rib was bruised.

It was pitch black, but she could hear all of the appropriate heartbeats. Someone stood shakily.

"Where are we?" she heard Yusuke's voice.

"I don't know," Misaki tried to stand up.

"Ironic. Could you get off me?" Hiei's voice came from under her, just in front of her face.

"Oh, sorry," she realized that her hand was on his chest and not the floor as she had first assumed. She tried to get up again, but couldn't. "Kuwabara! Get off me!" she shouted. There was no mistaking that heavy load.

He didn't answer.

"Kuwabara! You lousy no good—"

"I think he's unconscious." Kurama's voice came from somewhere to her right. "Probably. He's fainted like a little girl," Yusuke laughed.

"Well that proves it," Kurama sighed, "If he had been awake, surely he would have protested."

"Get him off of me!" She said through clenched teeth.

They were silent as they headed for where they thought they had heard her.

"You two bakas! Get your butts over here! I'm over here!!"

"Keep talking," Kurama spoke up.

"If you don't get him off me in the next two seconds I'm gonna, ow!" Someone had stepped on her other hand's fingers.

Kurama reached down to find it. "There you are," he sounded relieved, "Yusuke, she's over here."

Yusuke found them without too much trouble as she continued yelling at him and the two yanked the lug off onto the floor where he rolled over and began snoring.

Misaki shakily sat up and felt Hiei grab her arm to steady her. She stood up and stepped to the right. Hiei sat up.

"I think my backbone's ruptured," Misaki rubbed her spine where Kuwabara's had slammed against it.

"Yours?" Hiei said.

"Right. Point taken." At least her spine hadn't been lodged against the stone floor. She held out a hand that he took somehow, and helped him stand up.

"The dummy has fallen asleep!" Yusuke said, kicking the snoring lump. "Kuwabara, wake up!"

A snore was the only response he received.

"Well it's comforting to know that he can sleep through anything." Genkai's voice said from nearby.

"I was wondering where you had gotten off to, Genkai." Misaki said.

"There's only one path leading out of here but it goes down and not up." She had followed the wall all the way around the black, square room, finding a door in one.

"That's our way then I guess." Misaki cupped her hands together, gathering spirit energy into the palms. She released the energy and it shone brightly as a round orb, casting an odd light.

"Why didn't you do that in the first place?" Yusuke grumbled.

"I was sort of pinned at the time." Misaki answered, turning to the door Genkai was standing next to.

The hallway was as dark, if not darker, than the room they just left.

They all followed the orb as it followed Misaki. She found it odd that they all just sort of up and made her the leader without saying a word. It also worried her. Genkai was one of the few lucky ones, Koenma and Botan being another of the few, they all had known her for a while now and yet they still lived. It was comforting, but harrying at the same time, for she knew that somehow or another, each and every one of them would die. She just outlived them. Or would at some point. The Elements all had tried to comfort her, telling her that it was simply the way things were. Nothing could die until it had done what it came to do. And Misaki hadn't done what she came to do, apparently. And so in a way, she was invincible. To a point. It was just a matter of figuring out what that point was before she died from it.

She felt the hallway widen out into another room and as everyone filed in behind her, dim lights came on from around the room.

The walls were in fact mirrors and not walls, reflecting the group several times over.

_"I am staying right here."_ Yusuke thought to himself.

Misaki didn't get the same feeling from this room as she got from the first one and she took a step forward, "It's alright, this room won't open up beneath us." Throughout the room, all of her images took a step forward in every direction.

"Interesting." Kurama took a few different steps himself, his eyes watching every move every one of him made.

"There doesn't appear to be an exit." Genkai noted, walking across the glass mirrors that lined the floor to the other side. She placed her hand on the solid glass across from them to prove her statement. While the mirror reflected the door they came in from, there was not a true door where one should have been.

Kuwabara turned back to the door they just came in and ran into the wall. "Hey!" He rubbed his nose. Carefully, he stuck a hand out and found that there was a reflection that did the same thing. Hand met hand and he realized that they were trapped.

Misaki, Kurama and Genkai all traversed the room, touching different spots along the mirrors as if a door might possibly be hiding in one of them.

"Wow. Now that's just creepy."

They all turned back to see Yusuke staring up at the ceiling and they followed his gaze. There was one large mirror that lined the roof above them, and it reflected everyone perfectly normally...except for the fact that there was two of everyone.

"Look runt! There's actually someone who is the same size as you for once!" Kuwabara pointed at the two Hiei-reflections.

"As if the world needed two world-class bakas." Both of them responded.

"Strange..." The two Kurama's noted.

Misaki tore her eyes away from the ceiling to see that there were in fact two of every person in the room. "Uh...guys...I hate to tell you this..." The two Misaki's announced, pointing at each other from across the room—opposite each other of course.

"Hm." The Genkai's considered the situation.

"There is no room for two Kuwabaras! There is only one true Kuwabara!" The Kuwabaras said indignantly.

"Man this makes my head hurt." The Yusukes complained.

"Didn't know you had a brain in there to hurt." The Genkais commented.

"Oh great. Two insults for the price of one." They both sighed.

"So...wait...if I'm the real Kuwabara...who are you?" Kuwabaras asked each other.

"Or are you in fact the true Kuwabara? Or is he the real Kuwabara?" The Misakis said philosophically.

"Is this making your head hurt? It's making my head hurt." The Yusukes said to each other.

Neither of the Kuramas had said anything. In fact, they were moving around the room, analyzing the other person's movements, though who was moving and who was mirroring the movements, neither one of them knew for sure. When one went left, the other went right. A step forward equaled a step forward. A right hand moved and a left hand responded. But a step back equaled a step back. To move right meant to move left. Looking left meant seeing to the right.

Curious, the Misakis blasted a ball of spirit energy at each other. The movement was so fast that they were only just able to dodge it, their shoulder getting singed in the process. The energy dissipated into the mirror.

"Promise me you won't do that again." The Genkais said.

There was a strange look in both of the Misakis eyes. _"However, it would certainly make for an interesting fight."_

"Alright. So what now?" The Kuwabaras crossed their arms.

"What do you mean, 'what now'?" The Yusukes asked.

"Well. We need to get out of this room. But the door is there and there." He pointed at either end of the room, the side they came in at and the side they should be exiting out of. There were doors on either end of the room, but they were within the impassable mirrors. "And we can't get to them because they aren't really there, they're behind the mirrors."

"We'll just blast our way out." Two finger-guns, one pointed at one door and the other pointing at the other, raised up and aimed at the mirrors.

"Won't work." The Misakis spoke up.

"The mirrors are protected somehow." The Kuramas agreed, "The energy Misaki fired off merely disintegrated when it hit the mirror, there was no actual damage done."

"Oy, my head." The Yusukes looked a little dazed.

"Then why is there a black mark over here?" Kuwabara was facing the mirror the shot had hit.

"There isn't any black mark." Misaki scowled, looking at the mirror behind her.

"Wait, which one of you said that?" The Kuramas asked.

"Me." All of the Kuwabaras and Misakis answered him.

"No I mean only one Kuwabara and one Misaki spoke that time," they specified, "So wherever the black mark is, the Misaki across from it is the real one. One Misaki wasn't able to talk about the mark, because there was a mark. One Kuwabara wasn't able to mention the mark because where he was there wasn't a mark."

As if that wasn't confusing enough, it made perfect sense.

"That means I'm the real Kuwabara!" The one who had mentioned the mark seemed happy, "I was getting confused. But only the real Kuwabara would be able to think for himself and mention something that was out of place. The reflection wouldn't be able to do that."

Everyone was staring at him.

"What?" Both Kuwabaras raised their hands in defense.

"What you said makes sense." The Genkais said.

"And...?"

"You never make sense." The Misakis finished.

"Okay so before my head starts hurting again, what are we going to do?"

"Only a reflection is able to go through a mirror because it isn't substantial enough to actually hit anything." The Kuramas mused.

"Despite the fact that I could have blown my shoulder off." The Misakis added.

"Despite that."

"So in order to leave, we have to walk through the wall using our reflections." The Genkais considered it.

"But then if the only way we can leave the room is by our reflections, then won't the reflections be the ones going on through the maze and not us?" The Kuwabaras looked thoughtful, "So it really won't be us, will it? Or will they be us since they have all of our memories and feelings? Have we all already died, we've just had all of our memories placed into a robot-like body that only seems human? We're just memories aren't we? What's the point in going on?!" The Kuwabaras dropped to their knees in despair.

In the midst of their theatrical and theoretical performance, they realized that everyone was staring at them again.

"What?" They asked as they stood up, annoyed.

"You did it again." The Misakis told him.

"Did what?" They were confused.

"Is it sadder that he does it or that he doesn't realize he ever did it?" The Hieis spoke up.

"Do what!?" They demanded.

"Must be a random insight savant. That's the only reasonable explanation." The Misakis piped up.

"Oh man I wish." The Kuwabaras said.

The Misakis rolled their eyes.

"Before this gets too out of hand for the third time, let's begin." The Genkais interrupted. "You're going to have to think backwards in order to get this to work. You want your reflection to end up over there." The two of them pointed at opposite doors. Both of them frowned, and then blasted a shot of energy across the room at one another. "Which one left a mark?"

"This one." Misaki said, her reflection unable to comment. "That means the one across from it is actually Genkai."

"Okay, make sure you pay attention to the correct one because this will get confusing." The Genkais said.

The Kuwabaras moaned, "It's already confusing!"

_Haha. Oh man. I'm confused. Is anybody else confused? I suppose that's kind of a bad thing when the writer of the story is confused. Nah, I guess I'm not. Better try harder next time._

_-lotsm_


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Yay. Another chapter.

O/C17: The 'twist' which is in fact a maze, has begun. All of the teams have taken off in different directions, but Team Urameshi and Team Koenma travel down the same path. They come to a room which at first glance seems normal but as soon as Yusuke steps a little farther than the others, the floor opens up beneath them and they all fall down to a lower, darker level. They find their route and begin moving forward again, and the second room where they stop is a room that is made entirely of mirrors. They go inside and find themselves trapped, unable to go back the way they came or forward into the next hallway. Then as they are examining the mirrors, a reflection of each of them appears, causing a bit of confusion as to who is real and who is not. They accidentally figure out how to find which one is which and then they devise a plan for escaping back the way they came as the door to the next hallway isn't in fact a door, but merely a reflection of the door they came in...

--

"You need to aim your reflection towards the door opposite the one we came in."

"Because there is only one door in this room, the other is merely a reflection of the door." The Kuramas nodded, having already worked it out in their heads.

"Exactly." The Misakis took up the narrative, "So then when the reflections step through the 'door' the real one will step through the door."

"Everybody got that? I have no desire to repeat myself." The Genkais crankily announced.

"Yeah I got it grandma. My head still hurts, but I got it."

"Well you'd better figure out which one is real and which is the reflection. Otherwise you'll smack into the mirror when you expect to walk into the hall." The Misakis advised, beginning to maneuver around the room.

The Genkais did the same, casually walking so that one was in front of each door.

"Easy enough." The Yusukes fired a shotgun at each other, ducking at the last second. "Wow. Now I know how it feels to be looking at one of those as it flies towards you. I almost feel sorry for those people I've blasted into oblivion. Almost." He checked the burn mark and walked for the door.

The Kuwabaras confidently marched about the room, getting in front of the doorway along with everyone else.

The Kuramas and Hieis fluidly trailed after.

"Shouldn't you check to see who is who?" The Kuwabaras glanced over at the pair who hadn't made any effort to find the difference.

"Hn." was both of the Hieis response.

"It isn't necessary Kuwabara, but thank you for the concern." The Kuramas said.

The Kuwabaras shrugged.

The Genkais confidently walked forward, the Misakis looking of their shoulders to watch the result on both ends.

On one side of the room, a Genkai disappeared as she stepped into the mirror. At the other side, the Genkai walked back out into the hall, turning a corner.

Satisfied, the Misakis did the same, with the others right behind her.

Just before they all turned the corner, they heard a loud, SMACK! as someone hit the wall.

Misaki cringed at the awful sound and turned back to see who it was.

Yusuke doubled over in laughter, "Kuwabara?! How...could...you..." He wasn't able to finish his sentence.

The real Kuwabara was on the other side of the mirrored room, rubbing his nose, a painful look on his face.

Misaki sighed, "Kuwabara, over here." She motioned to him with her hand.

"Leave him behind if he can't figure out even a simple problem." Hiei began walking around the corner, hands in his pockets.

"Do you need to be reminded of a certain word that caused your downfall, arrogant little monkey?" Misaki scowled, defending Kuwabara for once.

Hiei stopped in his tracks. If it had been in his nature, he would have flushed with embarrassment at being reminded of the three letter word that had caused him to lose his soul, the first among the four would-be rescuers. But...it wasn't in his nature.

"I believe that was quite a simple problem, hm?" She continued, a dangerous look in her eyes.

Kurama could see Hiei tense and he grew worried. If the two of them got into it, their time would slowly dwindle away.

"Don't say one particular word. And yet you went and said it."

She had never done what she was doing before. Never had Kurama seen that particular look in her eyes before. And yet it wasn't dangerous as he first thought. It was different, more...desperate?

Kuwabara made it safely across the room at this point and so Misaki stopped as they all went around the corner to meet up with Genkai.

--

"I'm afraid I don't understand." Kurama admitted as he ran beside Misaki, "We entered that room and exited that room through the same door, but here we are, in a different hall which is, if I'm not mistaken, back at the same level from which we fell."

"You are correct on all counts. However, this is no ordinary maze."

Neither of them heaved for breath nor did it pain them to speak even as they ran on together, the others spread out behind them.

"I can see that." He responded with truthfulness. Wanting to perhaps distract her, Kurama continued with his inquiry, "Won't one of the other teams try and eliminate us while we are here in the maze?"

Misaki considered it briefly, "For one, it isn't allowed. And secondly there are infinite paths within this maze. The chances of actually meeting up with any one, the chances of crossing paths at any time, are one in infinity. It won't happen."

"So there are infinite roads in which to take?" Kurama asked.

Misaki nodded, "It's automatic disqualification to interfere with another team if you do happen to meet up with them. If you ever even happen to see them at all.

"But that is also why the maze changed when we left the same door we came in from back there. You can never take the same way twice, so that also means that you can't retrace your step." She sighed, "I hated it then and I hate it now."

"Was this same maze used another time you attended?"

She snorted, "If you use the word 'same' loosely, then yes. Last time I was here I think. Or maybe it was the first time. Huh. I don't remember. That's funny." Her gaze turned inward as she walked.

He noticed the change in her expression, "Misaki?"

"Hm? I'm sorry. I suppose I shouldn't consider it strange that I can't remember which time it was considering the fact that I have obtained so many memories throughout the years." _"It's just that I've never __not__ been able to remember something in particular."_

"I could see how, egh!" Kurama winced, pain that appeared to have stemmed from the bite he received making a muscle twinge as he ran.

"Are you okay? We can slow down. I won't have you dying on me." Misaki automatically pulled back her pace a little. The others distance was farther than Misaki thought and so she did slow down.

"No I'm fine please don't—" He stumbled and Misaki stopped, grabbing for him to steady the kitsune.

"I hate it when you lie." She sighed for the second time in only a few minutes, "And you aren't all that good at it either. We'll walk for a while."

"So are all of the 'trials' within the maze always so far apart?" Kurama asked, holding his side as they walked.

"Sometimes. Other times they throw you for a loop. Depends on what path you end up on."

There were a million questions that Kurama wanted to ask Misaki, even though through his acquaintanceship with her he had already answered a million others.

He went back in his mind—trying to keep the pain at bay, it felt like there was this insufferably cold fire burning through him, rearranging with said flames—back to the beginning when they all stood in Koenma's office.

The others wanted to know what had made Botan jealous of Misaki the last time she had contact with the Reaper. Kurama had a vague idea of such a thing, remembering only that the event had occurred instead of the details of the event. As much as he would never admit it, it piqued his curiosity. The peppy Botan? Jealous? Hardly seemed the type. So he asked her about it.

Misaki cringed, "Not exactly something I like to talk about. It was basically a misunderstanding and I almost feel horrible about it, but when people don't use common sense I don't have any sympathy."

Kurama waited for her to continue.

"Botan is old. A lot older than she looks though I think sometimes she forgets that. It was a guy. The guy liked me, I didn't even give him the time of day, but Botan liked him and so since the guy spent a lot of time around me Botan got the wrong idea. And then the guy went and died for me and Botan was all upset for the longest time. And I'm sure she still hasn't quite forgiven me for it." Misaki simply let the words spill.

"And what does mentioning Botan's age have to do with this?"

"It was ages ago. She was young, very young, but old enough to like a guy and hope for the same feelings in return. She didn't really know me, but she was jealous."

"And you didn't pay any attention at all to this guy."

"I considered him a friend," Misaki said after a moment's pause, "But love? I had no need for love. I had all of the love in the world and gave it devotedly to one person, my brother. The man Botan fawned over was a distant ancestor of Genkai. I still remember the bright pink hair vividly." She chuckled, "The first time the Tournament of Threes sent out invitations for its first ever call for the best in the land, the three of us were one of their picks. And so we went, the guys cocky and ready for any challenge anything could send our way. And so Botan's would-be lover died." Misaki's words caught in her throat. _"Died for __me__." _

"And Botan was jealous and mad and furious and angry with me when she found out. But she was young. She got over it." _"I didn't. I never really have." _

"What did your love stem from?"

"What?" Misaki said, a bit distracted.

"Your love. Love for your brother? He wasn't actually your brother so what did the love stem from?"

"In order for an element to become an Element, there has to be another Element that...helps the element change forms. After changing forms, the new Element is weak and quite susceptible to anything that comes along. So the original Element protects them, heals them. And during the course of that time, the two become very close. It happens with all of the Elements really. Then eventually the new Element will find another element and so the chain continues."

Well that answered a lot of questions Kurama had been saving up. He rubbed around the bite on his neck, the teeth marks not fully healed. It was burning again.

Misaki was frowning, "I don't know why I just told you all of that."

"Consider it a favor to me. It took my mind off of the pain."

Misaki didn't answer. She hoped no harm had been done by telling him all of those things. It was a little late to be worrying about it now though.

There had been several turns, but no branches off of the main path so all of them continued on together, waiting apprehensively for the next room.

And of course, eventually it came. They didn't know how much time had passed between the last room and this one and frankly no one cared. Things had gotten boring.

"Great. As if we haven't wasted enough time." Genkai said as she leaned over words that were written out on the floor.

The room was fairly nondescript, but there was one door in each wall, including the one that they came in from.

"'If you wish to travel the correct path, choose wisely your way, and follow directions given, do not in one place stay.'" Misaki read it out loud. "Verse. Oy."

Materializing in front of her came several orbs of varying colors. Purple, red, white, clear, yellow and blue. There seemed to be something within them as the colors were various shades that shifted as if they were alive.

"So what do we do?" Yusuke asked.

"It's like a game." Misaki awkwardly tried to explain it, scanning the rest of the note on the floor.

"Then wake me when it's over." Hiei plunked down against a wall and promptly fell asleep.

"As if we haven't heard that line before, hamster legs." Kuwabara said.

Everyone thought that Hiei hadn't heard him until the fire youkai spoke up out of no where, "Then you should have already known of this, baka."

A vein in Kuwabara's forehead pulsed but Misaki placed a hand on his arm and shook her head. They had a limited amount of time to get to the end of the maze and there could be no distractions from what was required of them.

Yusuke walked over and lifted the purple orb, "These are pretty neat."

Kuwabara had a hold of a white one, "Look at the colors!"

As Yusuke gazed into the deep purpleness, the darker hues cleared rapidly and the orb began shaking in his hand. "What the, OW!" A large shock of lightning ran up his arm, causing him to drop the orb. It burst into pieces in mid-air.

Kuwabara's white one shook as if in response.

Yusuke held his arm, which was blackened from the strange stored lightning. The white orb glowed brightly, the glow reaching out to Yusuke's arm and healing it instantly. Kuwabara dropped the orb in surprise and it blew apart just as the other orb had.

Curious and thankful, Yusuke stretched his now healed arm. "Alright, what just happened?"

"Lightning...heal..." Misaki mumbled, scanning the words again, "Why do I feel like I'm trying to get to the Island of the Oracle again?"

"Similar circumstances to be sure." Kurama agreed. He was kneeling next to where she sat. "It appears that we have to activate these orbs in a particular order and they will tell us which direction we need to go."

"Well the first one is obvious, 'From the sky above comes pain, now it all begins again.' Lightning." Misaki held up one of the purple orbs. There was a large bump in the ground just to the left of the words, "And that's where it needs to strike." She held the orb over the bump, feeling a rumbling come from deep within it. Misaki let go just as the lightning came to the surface and it struck the bump, causing it to pulse once and an affirming noise rang out.

--

_No they still have a ways to go with this puzzle, just fyi. Fun stuff, huh? Anway, thanks for reading!_

_-lotsm_


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Nuttin to say.

O/C18: The two teams of three manage to get out of the mirror room and after a lot more walking, they reach another trial room with one door in each wall. In order to find out which door to take, they are forced to figure out a puzzle using the correct sequence of strange element-type orbs on a small bump in the room. They figure out the first one of the sequence, lightning, and now continue with the rest of the sequence...

--

"Okay, what's next?" Misaki glanced back at the verses on the floor, their clues to the sequence.

"'More powerful than a simple flake, two make for a cold mistake.'" Genkai was standing over them, Kuwabara and Yusuke hovering too, "I would assume they mean snow, or ice." She picked up a blue orb and held it over the bump.

"Wait." Kurama got up and took another blue orb off of the ground, "It calls for two of them."

Genkai and Kurama each held a blue orb over the bump. They felt the rumble, though it was more of a 'swoosh' and then they let go, a chill sliding into the air as the orbs released their snow to fall upon the bump. There was another affirming noise.

"'Thrice through darkness of the day, mysterious pulse held at bay.'" Kuwabara decided to read out the next one. "Thrice?" He looked confused.

"Three. Thrice means three." Misaki told him.

"Three orbs. But which three?" Yusuke's face was thoughtful.

Kurama spoke up, "I admit that I do not quite understand the meaning of the verse, but in keeping with the pattern I would say that it's talking about—"

"Fire." Everyone looked up to see Hiei standing over the bump, three orbs that he had apparently snatched hovering above it. The red orbs flickered like true flames, orange fire banding together to create a larger blaze before it stuck the bump.

Hiei turned away and went to sit back against the wall.

_"He may claim that he doesn't understand games but I suppose he understands fire at the very least." _"'I originate far under the ground, because of me all things come down.'" Misaki read the next verse.

"Gravity?" Kurama asked as he came back to her.

"Sounds like it." Genkai said.

Misaki looked puzzled, "Fire is the red orb, lightning the purple, blue is snow, the white is heal..."

"That leaves yellow and clear." Kuwabara pointed at two of the orbs that were said colors.

"Maybe yellow?" Yusuke picked up a yellow orb and held it like he had seen the others, just over the bump. There was a sparkling feeling that came from deep within it and then a sparkling flash as the orb's power hit the bump. The sound that came next was rather negative.

"That didn't look like anything gravity-ish." Kuwabara proclaimed, "At least I don't think so. Gravity wouldn't be all sparkly would it?"

"No I wouldn't imagine so." Kurama said.

"I don't think the clear is gravity either. I think gravity would be darker and heavier." Misaki agreed with them both.

"What about a combination of two orbs?" Genkai asked, "It took two blue ones to make a more powerful snow hit, why couldn't it take two different ones to make 'gravity'?"

"So what combination?" Misaki puzzled.

"It is easy to rule out using two of the same kind together." Kurama pointed out.

"Agreed." Genkai nodded.

"Then use two different kinds." Misaki grabbed a purple orb and tossed a blue orb to Genkai. They held the orbs over the bump and there was a deep rumbling noise and the lightning and snow wove together, creating a heavy brown color which fell harshly. There was a negative noise.

"Now that was gravity." Kuwabara nodded.

"Then why didn't it work?" Yusuke crossed his arms.

"We have to start over." Kurama said. Everyone looked at him. "If you make a mistake you have to go back to the beginning and work your way forward."

"Right." Misaki sighed, "Lightning."

A purple orb was held over the bump. Affirmative noise.

"Double snow." Genkai said.

Yusuke and Kuwabara took up a blue orb each and used them. Another affirmative noise.

"And triple fire." Misaki, Yusuke and Genkai obliged and they heard their third assuring sound.

"And now gravity." Kurama noticed that there were only one blue orb and one purple orb left.

"I don't think we'll need them again." Misaki saw his eyes take in the last of those two. They grabbed a blue orb and a purple orb and used them, causing the gravity to spill onto the bump. The affirmative noise made them all feel a little better.

"But no room for any mistakes." Genkai noticed.

"Last one." Misaki read it out loud too, "'Sacred light not often seen, finishing touch upon this seam.'"

They all looked at the remaining orbs. Without any purple or blue, several red, clear, yellow and white ones lay scattered about.

"One of each?" Yusuke asked.

"That would follow the trend." Kurama answered.

"No...not one of each." Misaki shook her head.

"I think it's the yellow one." Kuwabara said, "You know with the sparkly stuff. That looks sacred, doesn't it?"

"While shiny stuff is good, I wouldn't consider it sacred." Misaki considered the orbs on the floor. Experimentally she picked up a clear one and peered into its depths. Nothing happened. Something about the iridescentness caught her memory. "I'd bet anything that if the white one heals you, this one purifies you."

"What do we use?" Kuwabara sat cross-legged amidst the orbs, picking one up and putting it back down, only to pick up another one. He intelligently avoided the red ones however.

"And if there is healing and purifying, then there also has to be life-giving." Misaki was excited as she grabbed a yellow orb. "Which is this one."

"Fire can be healing as well." Yusuke reached out but remembered what happened with the purple one.

"Searing yes. But not healing in the way that these three are."

"Then a combination of life, heal and purify would create the sacred light needed?" Kurama guessed.

"I think so. But there is no way to be sure."

Genkai walked over and gathered a yellow, clear, and white orb in her arms. She threw them into the air and they combined together, creating a dull 'poomf' before they burst into pieces.

"Not very sacred." Kuwabara frowned.

"But very smart." Misaki began setting aside different combinations along with Genkai and Kurama. They threw them into the air, but each time something was missing and they knew that they had not found what they were looking for.

Kuwabara just watched, though Yusuke tried his hand at a few. Kuwabara felt just a little out of his league so he toyed with a clear orb, feeling glad that there were so many of the three orbs that they needed. Something was tugging at the back of his mind as he watched failure after failure of the others. They were missing something. Something important. He spied a tossed aside red orb, making sure that a healing orb was nearby in case he needed it.

"It just isn't working." Misaki's patience was running low and she resisted cracking one of the orbs against the wall. There was no way of knowing how much time was passing them by as they sat attempting to figure the game out.

The four of them leaned over the remaining orbs they gathered—there were plenty more lying around--trying to scrounge out a new combo.

There was a blinding flash of triumphant light that faded just as quickly as it came.

"That was it!" Misaki exclaimed, her head snapping around to find the source.

They all turned around to see Kuwabara happily standing in the middle of falling stars of light. "Now that was sacred!"

"How did you do that?" She demanded.

"I...I don't know! I just did!" He didn't like being put on the spot. Misaki shoved him towards the orbs they gathered.

"Do it again."

They watched him closely. He glanced over what they had. He took a yellow one, and a white one, and two clear ones. He looked up around the room and saw a red orb, got up and brought it back, putting it with the other four. He pointed. "That."

The others considered it.

"That's the last life orb." Kurama's bite mark was aching again, sending pulses of freezing heat throughout his body with each pumping of his heart.

"Then we'd better hope this works." Genkai commented. "Everyone pick up an orb."

The five people each took one in hand and went to the bump.

Misaki had the red orb, having taken it as it was the most dangerous of the five.

At about the same time, they felt their orbs beginning to work and they released them, floating free above the bump.

They all stuck at the same time and the issuing light from the strike was so brilliant they need it had to be the right blend.

No one breathed as the bumps shimmered with the previous power. A second passed. Then two.

The ding was affirmative.

Kuwabara and Yusuke let out a whoop and the other three smiled, pleased at the results.

Misaki looked down at the floor, seeing words being scripted at the bottom of the verses in reaction to their successful completion: 'The answer to the game, go back the way you came.'

"You guys aren't going to believe this." Misaki's voice dripped with cynicism. She pointed at the door they came in.

"Bu..but...we..."

"Didn't we just come from there?" Yusuke interrupted Kuwabara's stammers.

Everyone had to see the answer for themselves.

"But how could that be right?" Kuwabara complained.

"Don't ask. You don't want to know." Misaki followed Genkai, who had already left the room.

Genkai was standing at an impasse. Not actually an impasse, rather a fork in their pathway just a few feet from the door.

"Choose your poison." Misaki came up behind her.

"Heh. I don't think I've had this much fun in a long time."

"Fun? Fun?!" Yusuke exclaimed indignantly, coming up behind them.

"Yes. Fun." She considered the options, "I've always been partial to the left."

"Can't ever do anything the right way, can you?" Misaki smiled.

"What's the point if you can't do things your own way? Come on slackers, let's go." Genkai motioned for Yusuke and Kuwabara to follow her down the left hallway.

"We're splitting up, then." Kurama watched them go.

Misaki nodded, taking the right passage.

--

Kurama, Misaki and Hiei didn't speak as they swiftly ran down the path, concentrating to speed to make up for lost time.

"Not much of a maze." Kurama said finally. There weren't any decisions on which way to go.

"More of a trial." Misaki followed the hall as it turned to the right. She suddenly skidded to a stop, the other two managing not to run into her.

"Hn. What was that about it not being much of a maze?"

It was a dead end.

"Well at least we know Yusuke and them won't run into a dead end." Misaki walked up to the wall and put her hand against it.

Kurama turned back as he and Hiei began leaving and saw Misaki start disappearing into the wall.

"Hiei!" He shouted to the retreating fire youkai.

Hiei stopped and saw what cause the bit of anxiety in Kurama's usually calm voice. She was shimmering in and out of existence, slowly being sucked into the wall, up to her shoulder now. Slowly being a relative term, it was happening quite fast but Hiei was faster.

He shot towards her and grabbed her other arm. He felt it beginning to pull apart beneath his fingers and there wasn't much to hold on too. But suddenly the molecules snapped back together and Misaki looked back at him, pain obvious on her face.

"Ow. Stuck in wall. Please let go." She managed.

Surprised, he released her and she shimmered again, disappearing fully.

She left Kurama and Hiei both gaping at the dead end.

It opened quietly inward and a smug Misaki was on the other side, her smirk quickly appearing as her molecules formed back together again.

"Not exactly a dead end." She sounded a little proud of herself though someone would have had to have been listening for such pride in order to actually hear it.

Kurama ran to her and touched her shoulder, trying to see if she was alright.

"Okay, please, working on a molecular level here and I don't want to make your hand a part of me."

Kurama almost shivered at the feeling of her shoulder. It wasn't quite there as the molecules hadn't pulled together all of the way and the sensation was awkward to describe. He took his hand away and she shimmered insubstantially a moment longer, a little 'pfft' noise indicating that she was all sucked back together again.

Misaki popped her neck uncomfortably. "That caused more than a little discomfort. I hope that there aren't any more doors like that." Her stance was stiff and she painfully worked her joints.

_"That's what she was doing when I found her." _Hiei stared as after a moment Misaki walked down the newly opened path. _"She's been practicing pulling herself apart." _The Jagan echoed agreement at his revelation. But he kept his words to himself, finding no desire to reveal what he knew. Yes that might have been something that was bothering her, distracting her. But she was acting differently.

A second door lay beyond the opened one and the trio made their way to it, going inside.

--

_I forgot to mention this but I sniped the orbs from Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. Just wanted to give credit where credit is due. And so that no one gets mad at me and is all 'that was totally stolen from FFCC'. Yes, it was you don't have to tell me that. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, good. _

_-lotsm_


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Hey look! Twenty chapters! Yeah okay so anyway...I'm such a bad person...I've been writing on the story, just not on the place where I should be, eheh. I have some things written that happen later on, but I haven't been working very hard on current events. Oops...

O/C19: The room's secret has been solved and the correct door to exit from...is the one that they entered from. Said path holds a fork in the hallway; Genkai, Kuwabara and Yusuke take the left passage and Kurama, Misaki and Hiei take the right. But their path ends up leading to a dead end. Misaki fazes through the wall by pulling apart her molecules and then she is able to open up the dead end—which is actually a door—from the other side. Another door is beyond the now opened one and the trio head for it going into the next room...

--

"I suppose asking for something interesting to happen would be too much." Misaki grumbled.

Kurama, Misaki and Hiei stood in the room, glancing about.

It was a circular room with archways in the walls covered by a flimsy, see-through material every three feet or so. Though she wasn't really paying attention, Misaki counted ten of the archways. But it appeared that there were more on the second level which she could make out by standing in the middle of the room.

Curious, Kurama walked up to the first archway to the left of the door and looked inside, moving the filmy curtain that covered it to the side. He couldn't see very far in as it was pitch black. He got closer, wondering what could be beyond. Still unable to see anything, Kurama went even closer. There was a blinding flash of light and he was entering the room again by the door they just came in from.

He pivoted around, seeing the empty hallway just behind him.

"Kurama are you okay?" Misaki noticed the strange look on his face.

"I believe I am intact." He checked to make sure, "Strange...I wonder if all of the others are that way."

"All of the other what?"

"I went into that archway and came out over here." Kurama pointed at the archway next to him.

"Hm..." Misaki walked up to the archway he indicated, going inside. She reappeared just behind Kurama, her eyes widening as she found his words to be true.

Hiei was leaning against the wall in between the door and the archway to the right of it, his eyes closed.

"Try the next one." Misaki motioned to archway number two as she headed for the third one.

Kurama nodded, warily going into it.

The white light flashed again, but this time he came out of archway number ten, next to Hiei.

"Hn." The fire youkai closed the eye he had opened when the red head reappeared.

Misaki was standing puzzled by the door.

"I believe this is another sequence puzzle." Kurama walked over to the first archway again.

"Ugh. I'll be glad when we get to fight again."

_"You're not the only one." _Hiei scowled at the puzzle proposition.

"This will go much faster if all three of us pick an archway." Kurama motioned to the other two.

Misaki and Hiei went through the second arch, appearing at the tenth. Then Kurama went into the first, Misaki the third and Hiei the fourth.

Hiei was the one to reappear in another archway, the fifth one. Kurama and Misaki went into the second, then the fourth. Then they all spread out again.

Kurama went into the first archway once more, this time coming out at the seventh.

"That makes it second, fourth, first." Misaki mumbled. She followed her words, entering and exiting the various archways. She and Hiei caught up with Kurama.

"Here we go again." She said standing in front of the third arch, knowing that they would probably just end up at the second floor and have to do it all over again. "Wait, Hiei, we used that one already."

The fire youkai was standing in front of the fifth archway. He looked at her, then looked at the archway.

"See how the curtain is blowing in the wind?"

Yes he saw that.

"All of the other ones we've entered in and come out of are doing the same thing."

He ignored her, marching into the fifth archway and Misaki shook her head as she and Kurama went into the third and sixth ones, respectively.

Of course, Hiei appeared at the door but then so did Misaki and Kurama. They went through the sequence, second arch, fourth, first. Hiei went for the seventh arch—the curtain was billowing—and Misaki shook her head at his stubbornness as she entered into the eighth one, Kurama the ninth.

Misaki found herself on the next floor. The middle of the second floor was open to the rest of the room, a short wall marking the edge of the ground. Misaki leaned over the wall to see Kurama and Hiei looking around for her.

"Up here!"

They spotted her as she waved once.

"The eighth one."

They followed the sequence and appeared behind her.

"This is really annoying." She looked around, finding the second floor to be the same as the first. "Wait here." Misaki requested of them, choosing a random door.

She felt thankful when she simply reappeared behind them. "At least we won't have to start completely over."

"This seems to be the only other floor." Kurama noted, looking above them and seeing only ceiling.

"I hope so."

They all started the process over again, mechanically moving back and forth through various doorways, finding a pattern and following it around. It was boring in general and by the time they neared completion of the sequence, all three of them felt as though they could use a good fight.

Misaki mumbled the order to herself as she followed it around the room. Kurama had disappeared into their last doorway and Hiei was close behind her. Finally, it was all over.

"Oh great, what now?" Misaki found herself standing beside Kurama in another room.

An unseen voice boomed at them from above, "Team Koenma, second finishers of the maze. Time elapsed: twelve hours. Time remaining: fourteen hours."

"That certainly did not seem like twelve hours." Kurama skeptically pointed out.

"I don't think twelve hours has passed outside of the maze." Misaki said, "It's in another dimension. I wonder though...Which team completed the maze first?" She aimed the question at the ceiling.

"Team Lanora."

The response was automatic and Misaki knew she was talking to an automated voice.

"Time elapsed?"

The answer took a little longer to come than the other. "Four hours."

--

"I hate mazes!" Kuwabara announced for the thirtieth time since they left the others.

He had a good reason for it, they had just encountered another dead end and were forced to turn back.

"You know I think that dead end is the same one we've been running into." Yusuke said.

"Not that either one of you are volunteering to choose a path." Genkai ran ahead of them.

"Couldn't we just climb to the top of one of these walls and walk to the end?" Kuwabara asked.

"Have you looked up at all?" Genkai wanted to know.

Kuwabara saw that the walls met the ceiling so his suggestion wasn't feasible.

Yusuke cursed as they rounded a corner only to find themselves at another dead end. He punched it, hard, leaving a prominent fist mark.

"Feel better, dimwit?"

"Yes as a matter of fact I do, grandma."

She led them off again, past various corridors, turning left twice, then right.

The three of them skidded to a stop.

"But...I...it..." Yusuke stammered.

In the wall of the dead end in front of them was Yusuke's fist mark.

"That poses a problem." Genkai crossed her arms.

"You mean to tell me that we've been running in circles this whole time?!" Kuwabara exclaimed, "These stupid paths all look the same!!"

"That's the point, baka." Genkai uncrossed her arms, fishing in her pocket for something. She pulled out a roll of twine and took an arm's length of it in her fist. She punched the floor, infusing the twine with her spirit energy. "Alright. Let's go."

Genkai took off again, letting the twine unwind as she ran.

They twisted back and forth between the hallways and turns again.

"Whoa, hold up!" Yusuke looked behind them. The other two stopped.

The twine was gleaming with Genkai's energy. It was woven back and forth between four doors which led to various paths.

Genkai walked up to a door which the twine had not come near, tapping the remaining string in her hand.

Back in a dead end somewhere, the twine popped itself out of the ground and began winding back to Genkai's hand.

"Because you never know when you need a ball of twine." Kuwabara said sagely.

Genkai ignored him, opening the door they stood in front of.

"Welcome."

Numerous voices echoed the greeting. Numerous identical voices.

"Not good." Yusuke said, "Definitely not good."

"What?" Kuwabara asked.

"There's one door and they happen to be blocking it."

"You are correct, ma'am!" One of the many stepped forward. "And I have the only key to open said door." He took it out and waved it around, the other clones doing the same. He sighed, "But sadly, which one of us is real and which is not?"

"There aren't any mirrors in here are there?" Kuwabara suspiciously examined the walls around them.

A confused expression passed over the clones' faces. "What? Mirror? I'm afraid not."

"Well that's something." Kuwabara nodded.

"He's had a bad experience with a mirror lately." Yusuke explained to the clones.

Their faces lit with understanding, "Ah."

"Hey! I had just about as much trouble as everyone else!!"

"And yet no one else took the time to run into the mirror."

"Shut it Urameshi before I pound your face into the ground!"

Yusuke rotated his shoulder, loosening the muscles, "How many wins would that be for me if you tried?"

"Alright you two dimwits, that's enough. Save your petty arguments for a petty time." Genkai snapped, "We have bigger issues to deal with than your baka rivalry."

"You ought to listen to the old lady, a Tie Up is easily capable of taking care of you all considering the dire consequences if you fail in the end."

"Certainly is a tie-up," Kuwabara grumbled, "We need to move forward. Don't we have some sort of time limit we're supposed to be watching?"

"No, no. Not a tie-up. A Tie Up. We're a Tie Up." The Tie Ups gestured to one another.

"That's what I said, you're tying us up. We need to get a move on." Kuwabara repeated, his brow turning down a little.

"No, we're not 'tying you up', we're Tie Ups."

"That's what I said!" Kuwabara's frustration crumpled across his face.

"No, you said we're tie-ups. Haven't you ever heard of Tie Ups?"

"I don't know!!"

"Third base." Genkai rolled her eyes.

They all turned and looked at her.

"You know it really makes your age show when you do that." Yusuke grimaced.

"When she does what?" Kuwabara asked.

"Make an old-timey reference like that. Next thing you know she'll be calling me 'whipper-snapper'."

"If I'm so old-timey, slacker, then how come you know what I'm talking about?"

"I hate to interrupt, but as the tall dumb one and short saucy one pointed out, you are on a tight schedule here." The Tie Ups interceded into the commentary.

"Saucy?" Yusuke looked at the clones and back and Genkai a couple of times.

The Tie Ups sighed collectively, "Forget it. We're just trying to help you out."

"Explaining what we're supposed to do would be helpful enough." Kuwabara crossed his arms.

"Figure out which one of us is real, take the key, and go out the door. Simple."

"Nothing is ever that simple." Kuwabara shook his head, "Not here anyway."

The Tie Ups shrugged.

"Can we fight you for it?" Yusuke wanted to know.

"Fight us for the key? Sure take your best shot."

"Great." He smiled, eager to release the pent up physical energy unused so far that day.

Simultaneously—as all of them desired some relief from the mental strain they'd been put through—the trio relaxed into defensive positions, clones across from them imitating the movement. There were a few moments of paused silence as all of them analyzed their opponents.

Then the fight broke out.

Yusuke ran forward, dodging to the side as three clones swept passed him, pivoting so that he was behind them. Each one disappeared as Yusuke's fist made rapid contact with their backs. Surprised and a trifle disappointed that they were done with so quickly, Yusuke ducked an oncoming kick he sensed behind him, shifting his weight to one foot and rotating his body around, putting full force under the opposite fist which contacted ever-so-nicely with the clones' jaw. He turned to the next one, connecting a solid left to their shoulder, following up with a right to the clone quickly advancing to take its fallen comrades place.

Kuwabara's spirit sword pulsed with its owner's energy, the powerhouse of a male swinging through several clones at a time. He was as astonished as Yusuke to see that the enemies vanished at his touch. There were more than enough of the fighting copies to take care of though.

Leaping nimbly over an unsuspecting clone, Genkai crouched as it sent a backwards kick in her direction, swooping her own leg in a circle and tripping up the would-be attacker. Her eyes constantly shifted around the room, keeping tabs on both the boys and the clones, able to concentrate on the fight in front of her almost absently.

After minutes of fairly intense fighting as it seemed more clones always scrambled up to meet them, Genkai stopped, her breath briefly catching her in throat; the number of enemies had multiplied, filling the room to the brim. Evading various assaults, she darted between legs, taking down assailants any time they got to close. She watched closer as Yusuke fought. Yes he was doing fine, even Kuwabara could take on several of these guys at once, but there was something odd going on. There it was again. Her eyes caught the strange surge of energy, locking on to the unusual pattern, but it was fleeting, lasting not even a second. That same surge reappeared, just as fleetingly, but quadrupled in number various places in the room. Genkai calculated how many she had taken out, adding in an estimate for Yusuke and Kuwabara and quadrupling the number. Oops.

--

_So part of this chapter holds my tribute to Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. Man I love that game._

_Heheheh, 'idiot rivalry'. Heheh, Genkai makes me laugh._

_-lotsm_


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Man, I wish I was able to update every day like I had been, but I haven't been allowed such a luxury. Meh. Anyway, enjoy!

O/C20: Kurama, Misaki and Hiei find their way through the maze, finishing second place behind Team Lanora while Kuwabara, Yusuke, and Genkai find themselves facing off with Tie Ups...a strange bunch of clones that have the odd ability of regenerating times four for each one hit. They have to find the real one and take the key from him in order to move on through the maze.

--

"Stop!"

Kuwabara and Yusuke whipped around, looking for the danger that they heard in Genkai's voice. But they saw nothing. That wasn't exactly true. They saw a lot of copies, clones. In fact it was rather cramped in the room now.

"What are we supposed to be doing again?" Kuwabara shifted in a circle, completely surrounded by imitations and same-faces.

"We need the key to the exit baka." Genkai snapped, annoyed that she didn't see the happenstances sooner, "And this is getting us nowhere. There are over four hundred of them now."

"Why didn't you tell us you'd multiply?" Kuwabara sounded miffed.

"You didn't ask." They all responded.

"I hate that answer." Kuwabara mumbled. "So what now?" He asked in a louder voice.

"Oh man that felt good." Yusuke finally spoke up, enclosed like the other two by the Tie Ups. All of the mental strain without a chance to let off some steam the whole day had made his head hurt. But the pain was released with the fight and his mind was clear.

His face thoughtful, Yusuke peered into the faces of those around him, "Which one of you is it? Which one of you has the key?"

Rapidly the copies were sucked inward towards a singular point.

"Me." The other copies gone, one man stood alone in the center of the room. A grey key dangled from a chain tangled about his fingers.

Kuwabara's jaw fell agape. "You mean that was it? That's how we were supposed to find out which one of you had the key? Why didn't you say that in the first place?! ...Wait," Kuwabara shook his head, knowing what the answer was even as the man opened his mouth, "Don't tell me. We didn't ask."

The man smiled, tossing the key to Yusuke who caught it and twirled the chain in the air.

"Urameshi!! How did you know that's what you were supposed to do??" Kuwabara demanded.

Yusuke shrugged, "It was a rhetorical question. I didn't actually think he'd answer."

An irked expression lined the man's face as he realized he'd been duped. "You mean you just happened to ask that question out loud?" He scoffed.

Genkai shook her head, "Dumb luck as usual, Yusuke. I'm not surprised."

"Hey, it's me." Yusuke grinned.

The man vanished as the trio made their way to the door. The key fit perfectly and with a deft twist, the door opened outwards into another hall.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Yusuke groaned, "Whadwe do? Take the long way around?"

"It appears so. Stop your whining, slacker."

"Hey! I'm the one that figured out that last puzzle, grandma!"

"By sheer dumb luck, baka. Now move it! We don't know how much time we've wasted with that little stunt back there."

The two boys quickly followed after Genkai as she ran down the pathway.

--

"My legs are killing me!" Yusuke announced.

They had no idea how long they'd been running.

"I could run for a lot longer!" Kuwabara declared proudly.

"Shut up, Kuwabara, your legs are shaking."

"Are not!"

"Yes they are, look at 'em!"

"Quiet!" Genkai ordered, eyes shifting around the hallway.

The other two fell silent as they felt something surge up.

"You feel that?" Kuwabara asked softly.

"Yeah..." Yusuke stood with his hands in his pockets, scanning the area behind them. "Why is it that I get the feeling that standing in the middle of a long hallway is not the best idea right now?"

The ground under them shifted erratically and they fought to keep their balance. From the passage they just came out of, a huge rumbling noise, rocking and shaking, steadily grew louder.

"Run!" Genkai shouted, taking off in the direction they had been heading.

"Suddenly my legs don't hurt anymore!" Yusuke took off after her.

The three ran as a wall behind them turned the corner and chased after them.

"Not good!" Kuwabara yelled as he looked back.

"Keep running!" Genkai told him.

The wall gained, coming closer and closing in on them.

Genkai skidded to a stop as she noticed several hundred feet in front of them that a wall was moving forward, intending to smash the three together.

"Definitely not good!!" Kuwabara's head snapped back and forth between the two walls.

"Shut up and run!" Genkai advised, grabbing the two boys and shoving them into another hallway to their right. She ran behind them, glancing back to see the walls ram into one another at full speed, leaving them no escape route back.

The force with which the walls collided sent a huge shockwave outwards which caused the passageway to shake harder.

As the trio left the danger behind, the shaking lessened, though never quite receding completely.

"Is it just me or is it getting cramped in here?" Yusuke asked, continuing at a slight jog.

"Wait." Genkai halted, checking their surroundings.

The other two paused a little further on.

"No I don't think it's just you...it's definitely getting cramped." Kuwabara rapped on the hallway floor with his toe absently.

Genkai peered back down the hallway they just left, something irregular about the shadows. "Well I hope you've caught your breath."

"Not really, no. Why?" Kuwabara's gaze trailed after hers.

"Because the walls are closing in from either side."

"I don't see anything."

"Hey Kuwabara, come here." Yusuke was standing with one palm flat against one of the walls and he held his other out.

"You know, I really don't want to hold your hand, Urameshi." Kuwabara crossed his arms.

"Just get over here, numbskull." Yusuke said crossly, motioning that Kuwabara mimic his stance on the far wall.

Hesitantly, Kuwabara complied, one palm on the opposite wall and the other reaching towards Yusuke, but unable to touch his fingers. Within seconds their hands crossed.

"So how long do you think this hallway is, grandma?" Yusuke wanted to know.

"Longer than we'd like. Let's go."

They all took off running again and it seemed that the faster they ran, the more the walls closed in on them, cutting off their path. Soon, Yusuke and Kuwabara dropped back behind Genkai, not able to three abreast any longer.

"Yusuke, get in front of me." Genkai commanded as she hurtled along the corridor.

"Why do I have to get in front??"

"Just do it, dimwit!"

"Alright, alright."

They ran single file now.

"Hey why do I have to be in the back?!" Kuwabara shouted as the walls came closer.

"Think you can run as fast as a bullet?" Genkai asked Yusuke.

"Well I can certainly try!" Yusuke lifted his hands and pointed his finger down the passageway. "Spirit Gun!!"

The blue orb expanded at his finger tip, shooting off and making a clear path in front of them. The walls continued closing.

"Again!" Genkai saw that the hall was still too big for the attack to have an effect, "But wait for the right time!"

"Uh guys I really don't think I can run much longer!"

"This is no time to start being honest, Kuwabara!" Yusuke yelled back.

"I'm not kidding! This path's gonna be too small for me to fit!"

"Wait...wait..." Genkai eyed the walls on either side.

"Spirit Gun!!"

This time the shot echoed down the route, forcing the walls aside. The three raced behind it, keeping up as close as they could.

"I see a door!" Yusuke told them.

"Oh no not another one." Kuwabara groaned.

"I'll take a room over getting squished any day." Genkai informed him.

Yusuke burst through the doorway which had been blown apart by his two previous spirit guns, followed closely by Genkai.

"I can't make it, it's too small!!" Kuwabara panicked, his shoulders caught on either side.

Genkai reached around and grabbed his shirt sleeve, jerking his body sideways so that it would fit. He fell out from between the walls into the room, pulling his foot back just as they snapped shut inches from his toes.

Genkai, Yusuke and Kuwabara warily eyed the room, unsure if these walls were going to remain in place.

"Team Urameshi!" A large voice bounced off of the air, "Fourth and last place finishers of the maze. Time elapsed: thirteen hours, fifty nine minutes and fifty nine seconds. Time remaining: one second."

"Holy cow! That was cutting it close." Yusuke dropped to the floor panting.

"I didn't expect that being 'eliminated' meant the maze would go haywire." Genkai admitted, "But I suppose that's a good enough reason."

"Look we can talk about this later, okay?" Kuwabara interrupted, "But can we just get out of here? I really need a nap."

--

Every team was transported back to the center of the arena on completion of the maze and told that they would stay within the fighting ring until all teams came through the maze or were otherwise disposed of. So when Team Urameshi appeared at the center, the other three teams were scattered about, each sticking to their own group.

"Are you guys okay?" Misaki ran up to them, seeing the worn out look in their eyes and noticing the slight tremble in Kuwabara's step. In spite of herself and her silent promise, Misaki apprehension had remained as Kuwabara, Yusuke and Genkai did not appear in the arena.

"Oh yes, we're perfectly fine." Yusuke's voice dripped with sarcasm, "Despite the fact that we almost got squashed by moving walls and practically ran ourselves to death, we're doing just great! What about you?"

"Moving walls?" Kurama came up behind Misaki, Hiei trailing after.

"Apparently once past a certain point in the time limit, the maze begins to close up no matter who is still inside." Genkai explained.

"Thus eliminating whoever remains." Kurama finished, nodding. He closed his eyes, looking thoughtful though he was attempting to hide a grimace. The bite on his neck kept flaring up and each twinge came faster and stayed longer than the one before.

"Let's go." Misaki pointed to the exit, "They're letting us out now."

The two other teams were already making their way out of the coliseum, Team Urameshi and Team Koenma following.

On the way back to their room, they recounted to one other what happened after they split up.

"Nothing was as bad as the mirrors though." Kuwabara said at the end of the story telling.

"Says the one who couldn't find the exit." Hiei replied.

"Shut up half-pint!"

"What are you going to do about it? You weren't even fast enough to escape harmless little walls."

"I did so!"

"And with all of your body parts intact. That disappoints me. I would have bet you'd lose a leg if I had known about it. Maybe two."

"Do these guys ever stop?" Yusuke asked no one in particular.

"If they did, I would assume something was terribly wrong." Misaki answered.

Kurama smiled, agreeing. His shoulder involuntarily twitched as a stab of pain spiked over his neck.

Misaki noticed but didn't say anything, opening the door of the apartment.

"I never thought seeing this place would make me feel at home." Kuwabara marched straight to his room, Yusuke right behind him. They promptly collapsed on their beds and fell asleep.

"I'd better get going." Genkai turned to leave as Misaki shut their door, if only to block out a little of the snoring that went on beyond it. "I'll be here in time for the matches tomorrow."

"Well you're more than welcome to but there won't be any matches."

Genkai raised an eyebrow questioningly at Misaki, already partially in the hallway.

"They wouldn't want us to be worn out." She acted as though she was quoting someone, albeit mockingly. Her voice returned to normal, "So I guarantee that there won't be any matches. Well have a day to rest." She grinned, "Better be ready the next day, old girl, you've made it into the semi-finals."

"Oh I'll be ready, Misaki." Genkai retorted as she left, the door shutting behind her.

As soon as she was gone, Misaki turned on Kurama.

"Out! Out! Go!" She shoved him towards the door.

"Wha...I..." Kurama's face revealed his confusion.

"I saw that little twitch you had going. That bite is still bothering you! I thought Koenma took care of it! I would go and chew him out personally if I didn't think Tweedledee and Tweedledum in there could get into any trouble by themselves." She jerked her head towards Kuwabara and Yusuke's room. "And I will chew him out the next time I see him! Go, go, go!"

Kurama didn't have the chance to argue as Misaki bustled him out the door and on his way down the hall. He submitted to her pushing, letting himself be corralled towards the exit.

Knowing he was perfectly able to reach Koenma on his own, Misaki turned back as soon as she was sure he would go, returning to the apartment.

"Won't have him giving out on me." She mumbled as she stepped into the room, "And now he's got more than twenty-four hours to heal."

Hiei was gone by the time Misaki returned and she settled down on the couch, staring at the closed door behind which the two humans slept.

--

_It's a little bit shorter than I like, but if I had gone on, the only good stopping place is a LOT longer than I want a chapter to be. And this way you don't end in a cliffhanger, heheh; if I had gone to the other point and stopped, it would have been this big cliffhanger. Ah well. I'm sure there will be plenty more of such opportunities._

_-lotsm_


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: This one came out so quickly because I actually had time lately to sit down and type! Sheesh it's certainly been a while since I've been able to do that and it's ironic really since I just complained about not being able to do that...heh whatever.

O/C21: Genkai, Kuwabara and Yusuke make it out of the maze just in time, with one second left, which puts them in last place. Everybody goes back to the apartment, Genkai leaving as Kuwabara and Yusuke go and crash in their room. Misaki makes Kurama go and see Koenma again because the bite Adominai gave him is still giving him trouble. Hiei takes off somewhere and Misaki stays at the apartment to make sure the two sleeping boys don't somehow manage to get into trouble.

--

She almost didn't hear the knock on the door but managed not to fall off of the couch when she was startled out of her thoughts. Misaki hadn't even noticed a presence approaching, though she attributed that to her staunch mind block erected. Sacrifices.

She opened the door to see Soren. Surprised, she didn't say anything.

After a moment's pause, he spoke up, "May I come in?"

"Yes! Sorry." Misaki shook her head and stepped aside, letting the tall man through.

Soren ducked his head slightly, managing only to brush a bit of his dark green, pulled back hair against the top of the doorway. He was smiling as he came in, Misaki closing the door while he leaned against the counter, practically able to sit on it.

"You looked rather pleased with yourself."

"Surprising, isn't it? Considering we got third place." He was in a good mood.

"You weren't all that far behind my team." Misaki allowed.

Soren laughed, "Of course not. Only a few hours."

"Not as large a gap as the one between first and second place." She admitted, alluding to the nine hours between Team Lanora and Team Koenma's finishing time.

"Four hours. They did it in four hours." Soren suddenly frowned. "I never would have thought it to be possible."

"To all intents and purposes it isn't." Misaki mirrored his expression, "But they did it. I don't know how, but they did it."

"Without cheating..." It was almost a question.

"If they did cheat, I will renounce the name Ansatsusha forever. Nobody cheats. Not here."

Soren nodded, sighing, "I'll take your word for it. I still wonder though..."

"Even I'd like to know, but then again, perhaps I wouldn't."

"I can understand that. I feel the same way. Chalk another up for life's mysteries."

"Speaking of mysteries, it's a mystery to me why you've come."

He smiled again, bits of his hair hanging about his face, "I've brought you something."

"Not Nicolai I hope." She glanced about apprehensively.

He laughed again, "You are one of the few females who are not addicted to his wiles."

"Nine Circles!" Misaki shivered dramatically, "I'd die if I fell victim to him and his wiles."

"You really don't like him." Soren sounded surprised.

"Not as horribly as I make out. He isn't all bad."

"Just half bad?"

Misaki considered it, "Maybe more than that. He has his moments."

"He certainly does." Soren rolled his eyes.

"Back to the reason of you gracing me with your presence...you've brought me something which isn't a Nicolai?"

"It isn't." His eyes glinted with amusement, "Here." Soren held out a book to her.

"A book."

"Don't sound so disappointed. It's better than most."

"I'm really not into reading. Compared with how exciting life seems to get, they pale in comparison."

"I'm sure they do. But this isn't that kind of book."

"Oh?" She took it, the hard brown and worn cover somehow feeling good beneath her fingers. "What kind of book is it that one is not required to read?"

"I didn't mean you weren't required to read it. I just thought it might interest you. If you have time to read it that is."

Misaki peered suspiciously into his face, "Alright, what's up? What's wrong?"

"...what?" The confusion was plain in Soren's eyes.

"You march in here, make conversation and then give me a baka book. Okay. No one does something like that unless they want something in return." She poked his chest deliberately.

"Alright, alright, I understand. You don't want the book. I'll take it back, sheesh." He reached for the hand she held the book in.

Misaki jerked her hand back, "That's all you were going to do? That's all you came for. To give me this—" She almost said baka again but somehow she managed to bite back the word, "book."

Soren crossed his arms, "Yes, that's all I'm going to do. In fact I'll leave now, okay? Will that make you feel better?" He wasn't smiling but something about him made her think he was making fun of her.

Soren stood up and walked for the door, putting his hand on the knob. He paused for a second, back to Misaki. Suddenly he glanced over his shoulder at her, a mysterious smile on his face, "Happy Early Birthday."

And then he was gone.

Misaki stood gaping at the closed door for a long time, her mouth hanging slightly open. "But...wha...I..." She stammered after him, but he wasn't there to hear it. The book was clutched to her chest, her fingernails cutting into the hard brown cover. She had forgotten all about the significance the next day held for her. Not technically a 'birth'-day since she was never actually born, rather it was her 'first time to be in a human body'-day but somehow that just didn't have the right ring to it.

As the years sped past her, Misaki basically began to overlook the day as each decade ran into the next. But then, none of the Elements ever really celebrated what corresponded as a birthday. Since their lives continued on indefinitely, one day out of a trillion didn't seem to have quite the same significance as it did to those who held only a short amount of time alive. Thus Misaki only just now remembered how much of a big deal humans often made of the day.

Nervously she glanced around, making sure that Kuwabara and Yusuke's door was firmly shut. If they had heard she knew something was bound to happen and something that she probably wouldn't like. Luckily it appeared that she was safe and so shoving away the question of how Soren would have any idea about such a day, Misaki examined the book a little closer.

It was small she thought, as far as books went. Not that she really picked up very many in her lifetime. The time that it took learning how to do so had been annoying, adding to the fact that the other Elements forced her to learn it equaled her dislike for such petty pastimes. She would never admit out loud that it came in handy of course, but it did and she was begrudgingly grateful.

The light in the room was dim and Misaki walked over to the light switch, flicking it upwards. Nothing. Angrily she flipped it up and down a few times, but no light.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she went into Kurama and Hiei's room where the twilight was still giving off enough glow to read by. She sat on the floor by the window, putting the book on the window sill and resting her arms on either side of it, beginning to read it.

--

The window she was sitting beneath was facing east so what little light there was didn't last for long. Sighing, Misaki sat back, waiting for the moon to rise.

So Soren had certainly caught her attention with the book, it was like nothing she'd ever read before.

Within the story, a person's memories, their thoughts and feelings, what made them who they were, were copied, the process perfected, just as the human race was beginning to die off. Scientists also perfected a type of android that when allowed to download the memories literally became that person. And so that person was able to live on, even though the original body didn't. But the question was, was it truly that same person? It wasn't, but it was. It acted, reacted, just as the actual person would, and yet it was just a copy right? It created new memories, holding onto the old ones which made up their existence. That was all anyone ever amounted to: a set of memories, of ups and downs, of feelings, emotions.

As the moon rose, light illuminated the book which lay closed in front of Misaki; the old, worn brown cover, nondescript from so much usage. She wasn't done with it by any means.

Misaki stood, hands planted firmly on the window sill, watching the moon rise behind the forest of trees and bathing the world in pale light.

The people never knew they were machines, never knew that they weren't the original, never even thought anything remotely close to such an idea. And thus the human race was permitted to continue...life.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't hear the soft footfalls on the carpet behind her. Only a sixth sense nagging in the back of her head let her know that something was watching her, gaze fixed on her.

Misaki turned, the figure's hair which glinted in the moonbeams not really registering for a moment.

"Misaki."

The simple word spoken by a deep, quiet voice from long ago in her past jolted Misaki out of any revelations she may have been having.

"Yoko??"

"You're surprised to see me." His smile was faint, but there.

"More like...speechless."

"Speechless? You? Never."

"Afraid so." _"And not for the first time tonight."_ "How did...?"

"How did I manage to appear?"

Misaki nodded, not sure if her voice would hold. Seeing him was overwhelming, it had been so long...

"Whatever bite my vessel managed to acquire has had the strangest effect."

"I can see that."

"I don't know how long it will last but I'll admit I wanted to see you with my own eyes. So I came back here."

There was something different about the kitsune...not mentioning the fact that he was now Yoko. Misaki supposed it was just a result of not having seen him in, well, years.

Before she could say anything else, Yoko was there, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close, leaning down and kissing her.

It took a second before Misaki realized what just happened, he certainly hadn't lost any of his speed in his dormant time.

Yoko pulled back from her lips slightly and sighed, his warm breath moving gently over Misaki's face.

"Your lips are the only ones that have ever set mine on fire." He said with his eyes still closed, intent on enjoying the moment.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and Misaki shuddered. Yoko pulled back, unsure. He put a finger under her chin and forced her to look up at him.

Misaki couldn't help but gaze into his golden-yellow eyes. Years of life filled the soul behind them. Years of...of longing?

They had met, it was true, but that was a long time ago. They were both rather young and their 'love' was partly spring fever.

_"Partly?" _Misaki thought.

Fully. It was fully spring fever. Nothing more.

"Yoko, I—"

"Shh," he held her face in one hand and put his thumb over her lips, "No talking." He leaned down and moved his thumb out of the way, kissing her again. Part of his silky, silver hair fell against her face and rested there.

Misaki smiled, "That tickles." she said, his lips still on hers.

Yoko drew her close and deepened the kiss and Misaki didn't think about his hair anymore. Yoko wrapped his arms tighter around her.

Misaki's brain came crashing to a halt, the barriers she put up rocking dangerously, threatening to break. The stone with which she attempted to make her heart become was crumbling and yet she could not...would not...

"N-no." She pulled back, her eyes widening at her own weakness. Why did they ever meet, why couldn't fate have lead her down a different path that day? Why the heck did he have to look so darn good?

She left him behind, no excuse, no 'It's not you it's me'. She had hoped that the abruptness would be counted as cold, unforgivable, as if he was worthless and meant nothing. And yet here he was. He hadn't sought her out when she left but when she was within reach, he came to her. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? She had left him, let him return the favor!

He could die. Like all of the other she came in contact with. It was an inevitability, it was who she was. Because of the paradox of her existence, that as an Element she was forbidden to 'interfere' to make contact, and yet that she was required to do so by the laws that bound her to the world...why did they all die for her? Make sacrifices to keep her alive? Here she thought of those prompted by something they couldn't understand to step in the way of a peaceful release, of an everlasting sleep.

But...but if that contact was reduced, if perhaps death was fooled into thinking he didn't matter, he could live. They could all live. They would all still be alive.

"Misaki?"

The deadly concern was evident on his face. The ruthless Yoko, the infamous kitsune. Here. Now.

"Are you alright?"

_"It's not me you should be worrying about..."_ Misaki shook her head, "Yes."

Yoko smirked and one ear twitched back briefly, "You just told me yes and no at the same time. So which is it?"

Misaki pulled away, farther this time, shaking her head but unable to say why.

He grabbed her arm, preventing her escape.

_"No one! No one else will be forced to die for me! If...if I can just hold back the grave from those who deserve longer...No one!" _"No one!" The word tore out of her lips before she could bite them back.

"What?" Yoko was confused, not hearing the words in her head.

"Nothing! Get away! Go away!"

He laughed at her and in the midst of her internal chaos, she focused outward on his open mouth, his laughing voice.

"You don't think you can really make me leave, do you?"

"I don't think you really want to find out the answer to that question." She narrowed her eyes, resisting a sudden urge to just pitch him out the window. Misaki jerked her arm away, but he just grabbed it again.

"I come all this way just to see you and this is the thanks I get." A mocking smile threatened to overtake his face. "Well I'm not leaving. You don't really want me to go, I don't believe it. And I'm not letting you go this time either."

Misaki's arm twitched with annoyance in his grasp, annoyed at being told what she could and could not do.

He just let his mocking smile shine down at her. "Now that's the woman I know. That look of defiance says it all. You never liked being told what to do, hm? That's just too bad for you, isn't it?"

She ground her teeth together, her free arm reacting quickly.

Yoko simply caught her punch before it hit his face, the etched smile never wavering.

Pinning both arms which he now held to her sides, he kissed her again, loving the infuriating he could feel seeping from her.

She struggled against his grip, recalling how strong he always had been. He hadn't lost any strength either.

"Let...me...go." Her voice was quiet.

Yoko laughed at her again, "I've missed that tone. You're quite angry with me now, aren't you? You can yell all you want, but it's when you get quiet that people should learn to watch out."

"But you never learn." The hushed words weren't any louder than before. If he would just go away, if she could just make him go away.

"Oh it's not that I don't learn. I suppose the lessons weren't harsh enough." He bent over her again, but this time she turned her head, profile shadowed by her hair.

"Yoko...please..." Again with the quieter tone.

If anything it was the smell her hair released that made him pause. Thoughtful, he sniffed the air. Even his vessel had recognized the smell, though not knowing why or how.

Yoko sighed, straitening up again when she showed no signs of moving. He had missed her, yes. And now that he had her, caught her, she refused him. It really just wasn't fair.

--

_Well this one is a little longer so I guess that makes up for the shortness of the last one._

_-lotsm_


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Wow. It has been a while since I've posted. I'm terribly sorry but I think this is how it's going to go for a while, I have so much work to do that I don't get a chance to write…which is quite disappointing really. Hope you enjoy it! I even made it a tad longer than usual because it's been sooo long.

O/C22: Soren drops by and gives Misaki a book for her birthday (which is the next day), leaving her to read it unbothered. But as the moon begins to rise over the tops of the trees outside the window, Yoko appears—the aftereffect of Adominai's bite. Apparently he and Misaki had quite a past together and, for now, he's come back...

--

He hadn't sought her out earnestly, it was true. Her disappearance was abrupt and unexplained but that didn't really matter either. Yoko had things to attend to, and he assumed Misaki had things of her own that needed attending to. He didn't take it personally, the thought never crossed his mind.

What could she do to make him go away? Misaki had already tried everything she could think of. He was so aggravating at times. She couldn't run away, he would just catch her. She couldn't fight him off...he would just catch her. The only thing she could think of was to just wait things out; he wouldn't be this way forever.

"The moon is so shiny."

They were sitting on the window sill, the moon rising above them.

Misaki had already contemplated hopping down and going and finding a tree somewhere but, it seemed rather pointless.

"Do you have to point out that everything is shiny?" Misaki sighed. Adominai's bite must have messed with the kitsune's brain, for he was not the usual Yoko Kurama. The ruthless bandit was content to swing his legs dangling from the window and gaze up at the moon. Thankfully. Who knows what he would have done otherwise.

Misaki's hand strayed to the book which lay next to her. How had Soren known?

--

"This is so stupid! This is a tournament, right?? Why aren't we fighting??" Yusuke slammed his fist on the countertop, upsetting the food Kuwabara was eating.

It was the next morning. Misaki sat on the couch, her nose deep in the book. "It's more than just a tournament. There's a reason why it's invitation only."

"Yeah because nobody would come once they figured out how much fighting is actually done." Kuwabara's full-mouth didn't stop him from commenting.

"That's not what I meant." Misaki glanced up at him, slightly annoyed.

"Hey! Rise and shine, fox-boy!" Yusuke grinned.

Kurama stood in the doorway, obviously not fully awake yet. His clothes were actually wrinkled and his hair was out of place. "The...the match? Did I miss it?" He glanced earnestly around the room.

"No matches today." Kuwabara shoved more rice into his mouth.

"Oh...that...that's good." He sleepily walked over to the counter and leaned on it.

"What's wrong with you?" Yusuke gave him a funny look.

"I...I don't know...I think the bite I received from my opponent Adominai caused Yoko to be set free for a while." He held his head, "But I don't remember anything. I just hope nothing horrible happened."

"Nah, we woulda heard about it." Yusuke shrugged.

"What time is it?" Kurama searched around the room for a clock, though his head didn't move very much.

"Past noon I guess. The cabinets are great but they didn't have enough money afterwards to buy a clock." Yusuke opened said cabinets and pulled out some food. "Hungry?" He offered some to Kurama.

"Um, no. Thank you. I feel a bit odd."

"You look a bit odd." Kuwabara stopped eating long enough to size him up.

"That's very helpful, Kuwabara, thank you."

"Don't mention it."

"I'm sure he won't, baka."

They all turned to see Hiei coming in from the door Kurama left open.

"So here you are Kurama. That's a neat trick you pulled, sneaking away from the toddler like that. You'll have to show me how you did it some time."

"Toddler? Sneaking?"

"Don't tell me you don't remember."

"I'm afraid I have no recollection of last night's events." Kurama admitted.

"That's probably just as well." Misaki muttered.

"What?"

Misaki didn't bother to pull the book away from her face, "I said 'you don't look to well.'"

"Since when do you read?" Yusuke grimaced.

Misaki lowered the book a little, her eyes visible over the top, glaring at him.

"Well it's just that I figured, why would someone like you know how to read? You don't seem the type."

"And you don't seem the type to ever shut up. So we're even."

Yusuke set out his food. "Touché."

_"If I just sit here, no one will ever know." _Misaki buried her face farther into the book. Ever since Soren showed up yesterday, she was apprehensive that others would find out. If there was one thing she hated, it was people knowing stuff she didn't want them to know. That and stupid people. Two things she hated. If she just sat quietly, maybe the day would pass her by.

"Hey guys do you know what I remembered last night?" Kuwabara's mouth was still full of food.

"To breathe, unfortunately for the rest of the world." Hiei spoke up.

"Shut up shrimp!!" Kuwabara swallowed his food before going on, "Now wait...what was I...oh yeah! I remembered that my birthday was the first day of the tournament!"

Misaki twitched behind her book. It was too much to ask that this subject be totally avoided, today of all days.

"If I may ask, how is it that you forget something like that?" Kurama wanted to know.

"Heheh, well sis doesn't make a big deal about it so sometimes it just up and passes me by and I don't even think about it."

"I suppose congratulations are in order." Kurama smiled.

"You've actually managed to survive another year without getting killed. Hn."

"Alright shrimp, that is just about enough outta you!!"

"Haha! He's right though, really." Yusuke laughed.

"You too Urameshi!!"

Misaki shrunk farther behind her book if possible, glancing briefly at the bedroom door Kurama left open. The window within the room was open. If she could manage it, maybe she could...

"Misaki!!" Ike burst in the door. He stopped, confused, "Where's Misaki?"

Kuwabara pointed at the couch with his chopsticks, but was as surprised as everyone else to see that she wasn't there. "She was right there...where did she..." His head turned left and right, searching for her.

Hiei's eyes glanced at the open window within his and Kurama's room. Of course he had seen her quick escape but what did it matter?

"I guess I couldn't expect her to stay here, but I supposed I kind of expected her to stay here." Ike shrugged.

"Why?" Kuwabara asked, holding up his bowl of rice and shoveling it into his mouth.

Ike frowned at them all, "She didn't tell you? You don't know?"

Soren had come into the room behind Ike. "I told you they wouldn't. She didn't tell me, though I knew anyway."

"Tell us? What didn't she tell us?" Yusuke scratched his head, "Did we fight today or something and...no she would have told us something like that."

"Maybe she doesn't want us to tell? Do you think that could be it?" Ike and Soren began talking to each other.

"I'm not really sure. Perhaps if she wanted them to know she would have told him herself."

"And yet she isn't here to protest so I don't see what the matter is with telling them."

"Tell us what??" Yusuke demanded.

"It's her birthday today." Ike said off-handedly, turning back to Soren, "Do you think they need to know?"

Soren raised an eyebrow at Ike, "Well whether she wanted them to or not, it seems they now know."

"It's her…what??" Kuwabara gaped, a bit of food dropping out of his mouth.

"Where is she?" Ike looked around, "I can't believe she's not here."

"I can't believe you just told them that." Soren shook his head.

"She was here." Hiei spoke up. "She left."

"See there? She left." Ike crossed his arms. "It's her own fault. If she had been here to protest against it, there wouldn't have been a problem."

"I somehow get the feeling that it is a reason for her quick departure." Kurama had a small smile on his face and was looking generally a bit better.

"Happy Birthday!!" Botan came into the room holding a present in her arms. She glanced around for a moment.

"She's not here." Ike said.

"She? Ahaha! Kuwabara, I really don't think you look that girly do you?" Botan bounced over and plopped the present down in front of him.

"What's this Botan?" Kuwabara turned his head a little to look at the box.

"It's for you! Happy Birthday!!" She grinned, pleased with herself, "I would have given it to you sooner, but oh well."

"A...a present? For me?"

"Bingo! Just for you! I am sorry about it being late but getting presents later are just as fun!" Botan leaned against the counter, her eyes shining as she waited for Kuwabara to open it.

His eyes got really big and watery.

"Oh no. Don't tell me you're gonna cry yah big baby." Yusuke rolled his eyes.

"Am not!" Kuwabara pulled his arm across his face, wiping away the tears, "I just...never get many presents."

"Hn."

"Shut up pint-size!!"

"Open the present Kuwabara, I can hardly stand it!" Botan clasped her hands together.

Kuwabara gently took the pink bow off the top of the gift and set it to the side.

"Do you ever get any presents at all?" Yusuke gaped at him, "Rip it open man!"

Kuwabara hesitated for a second, then wrapping paper was flying everywhere and Botan was grinning happily.

**"**Eikichi!! Kitty!!" Kuwabara pulled out the cat from the box and hugged it with all his might.

"Aha! I thought you'd like seeing it!" Botan winked, "But look inside the box again."

"A crown! Eikichi look! You can wear a crown!"

"There are two!" Botan giggled, "One for the birthday boy too!"

"Suddenly I understand why Misaki kept quiet." Hiei crossed his arms, leaning against the wall next to his and Kurama's doorway.

"Kept quiet about what?" Botan asked.

"Oh nothing." Kurama smiled a little.

"It's her birthday." Ike said.

Soren elbowed him, hard.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Ike rubbed his side.

"Always opening your mouth before you think." Soren covered his face with a hand.

"Misaki...has a birthday? Hm..." The Styx Guide's response to learning this bit of news was quite unexpected as her face turned thoughtful. "I never knew she actually had one."

There was something akin to a surprised fall that reverberated around the room, leaving the thoughtful Botan still standing and appearing thoughtful.

"What do you think she had?" Yusuke asked as he got up, rubbing his head.

"I don't know. I suppose I never thought about it." She shrugged.

"Hey has...aw no." Misaki appeared at the still open front door but saw that Ike and Soren were still there.

Before she could escape a second time, Ike scooped her up and swung her around.

"Happy birthday, happy birthday!" His voice was sing-songy.

"Ike! Put me down!" Misaki squirmed, "If I had known you all were still here, I wouldn't have come back."

"I think you're lying. You wanted to celebrate your birthday with us." He stopped spinning around, still holding her up at eye level.

She glared at him.

"Somewhere deep down, you know you wanted to. Admit it."

"Let me go before I bash your head in." She ordered.

Ike dropped her and she landed on the floor, stepping away from him.

"Doesn't anyone around here check for mail?" Genkai was at the door, holding a slip of paper she picked up off of the ground just in front of the door.

"It's a party!" Ike exclaimed.

Misaki stepped on his foot as she walked past to take the paper from Genkai.

"Tomorrow's matches." She said, handing it over.

Misaki scanned the contents, her face turning grave.

"Oh no you don't, no depressing stuff. Not today." Ike snatched the paper away, "It can wait for tomorrow. Hey look at this!" He held so that Soren could see.

Misaki glared at Ike, though he ignored her, but she refused to make a fool of herself by jumping up and taking it back, knowing that he would just hold it up higher.

"I see we will have a chance to face each other Misaki." Soren was pleased.

Allowing her lips to form a brief smile, Misaki nodded once, "So it seems."

"We are facing Team Lanora." Genkai answered the look on Yusuke's face.

"Team...Lanora?"

"You remember that blonde-haired team that was there for the maze?" Misaki asked.

"Yeah..."

"That's Team Lanora."

"Oh...okay."

"But none of that matters for today," Ike interrupted, "Because it isn't happening until tomorrow. Right now all that matters is—"

"No. No it doesn't." Misaki voice was firm as Ike turned to point at her. "You will forget that anyone ever told you I had a birthday today, though I seriously have no idea how they knew," here she glared at Soren who shrugged noncommittally, "And things are going to go on as if nothing ever was different."

"How can you say that?? This is the day of your birth—"

"Shut up Ike. I am leaving now. If anyone gets me anything, I will personally hand it to Coahtu and have her burn it. And if you decide to make a big deal out of this, I will have said woman burn you." Misaki deliberately turned and walked out the door.

As soon as she was out of earshot Ike rubbed his hands together, "Alright, what are we going to do? I really like the idea of a party."

"You really have this insane desire to get yourself killed, you know?" Soren told him, "I am going to have no part in this." He started to leave but Ike grabbed his shirt and held him back.

"A party! That's brilliant! Maybe if we could get this Coahtu person to see our way we won't have a problem with this 'frying' thing."

"Seriously?" Kuwabara was still clutching Eikichi, "Have you met Coahtu? There is no way in the world that she would ever agree to—"

"Actually I think it's a fairly harmless idea myself."

They all turned around to see Coahtu standing just behind the couch, her arms tucked into her kimono's sleeves and her fire-hair waving pleasantly down her back.

"I take it you are this Coahtu person?"

"An Element!" Soren exclaimed at the same time, "I didn't know they actually existed."

A brief irked look passed over Coahtu's face, "It appears you know far more than you ever should."

"It's a gift." Soren rejoined.

"You guys can't be serious about this party thing, right? I mean didn't you hear what Misaki said? She practically promised to have us killed if we did anything!" Kuwabara was petting Eikichi and the cat purred contentedly in his arms.

"Ooo, it'll be so great! We absolutely have too!" The blue-haired Aldeve appeared with a flourishing swirl of water in the middle of the room, Yukina close by her side.

_"It's getting too crowded in here." _Hiei glanced around, counting up at least seven people.

"Good thinking Hiei, you and Yusuke should make sure Misaki doesn't come back before we're ready." Kurama spoke up.

Hiei hadn't told everyone he was leaving, but he realized that the kitsune could easily read his facial expression which gave away his thoughts ever so slightly.

"Why do I have to go?" Yusuke made a face.

"Kuwabara might let something slip."

"Hey!"

"I'm sorry Kuwabara, but it is true."

"And if either Aldeve or myself went, she would know immediately that something was up." Coahtu pointed out.

"I think you're going to enjoy this to much, Coahtu. Your intentions aren't entirely pure." Aldeve huffed.

A ghost of a smirk passed over Coahtu's lips, "What within nine levels would you think such a thing Aldeve?"

Aldeve crossed her arms, "Just a feeling I'm getting. It's that ninth level that worries me."

"Well we certainly can't let the girl think she can always get what she wants, now can we?"

--

_I just realized how many Dante's Inferno references I make in these sagas…and that's a lot! Anyway, thank you for your patience and I hope you continue to stay with me! I definitely have NOT given up on this fanfic (though sometimes I get side-tracked, hence the 'Into the Mind of the Enemy' story that got posted eheh) because I've already come so far!!! So don't give up on me either!!_

_Thanks for reading as always!_

_-lotsm_

_If anyone notices any inconsistencies within the story (anywhere at all, even if it's in the Ansatsusha Saga), please let me know! Since I'm writing on it so inconstantly, as a result, inconstancies rise. So let me know! Thanks again!_


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: So this one came faster than I thought it would, yay.

O/C23: There are no matches for the day, which means that the others are bored. Misaki tries to be as inconspicuous as possible, hoping to make it through the day without anyone knowing that it's her birthday. But of course, she fails, Ike visiting their rooms and announcing to the world that it is indeed the day of her birth. Misaki threatens to hurt them if they plan or do anything and tells them that she will personally have Coahtu burn any present given to her but as soon as she's out of earshot, what happens? Ike starts planning…

--

There was a certain tree that Misaki sought out as she walked through the forest and when she found it she quickly climbed into its branches, settling down among the leaves. Her hand absently found the piece of bark missing from where her brother slipped and she rested her fingers there.

She pulled the book out of her back pocket and sat staring at it for a while.

"Misaki? Misaki?"

Looking down through the green veil, Misaki caught a glimpse of slicked back black hair.

"Whadaya want?"

Yusuke stopped and glanced around, unsure of where the voice came from. "Uh...do you want to go for a walk?"

"No not really." Misaki answered after a moment.

He caught the general direction that her words came from the second time and he gazed up the tree she lay peacefully in.

"I want to show you something."

Misaki pocketed her book, "...oh alright. But only because you probably won't stop bothering me about it until I do."

"You got that right."

Misaki landed in time to see his grin before he turned away and walked a few paces, pausing to make sure she would follow.

The day was peaceful and bright, the wind rustling the leaves of the trees around them every so often.

"You know, I've just noticed something."

Misaki looked over at Yusuke, "Hm?"

He stopped for a moment, "It's quiet here. Really quiet."

"Eh?"

"Listen." He closed his eyes and lowered his head a little.

Misaki's eyes wandered about the trees, searching for what Yusuke was talking about. Finally she closed her eyes as well.

"There's nothing." She heard him say, "No birds chirping. No insects buzzing. Just the wind. It's…unnatural."

Misaki had never stopped and thought about it, but Yusuke was right. There was no other sound on the air save the wind and the leaves, no activity of unseen creatures.

"Heh. Weird, isn't it?"

She saw him smile a little, looking thoughtful before he opened his eyes and continued walking, hands in his pockets.

There was more to the black-haired young man than meets the eye, Misaki decided, another side of him that most people didn't see. She hadn't noticed the difference in sound and yet he pointed it out with ease.

Misaki kept following him through the forest, light breaking in bits and pieces through the layers of branches and creating shadows on the ground. It was pleasant enough to walk and serene enough to be enjoyable.

"We're here." Yusuke suddenly announced, stopping in mid-stride.

Misaki's surprised expression got a chuckle from Yusuke.

"What? You didn't believe me when I said I had a destination in mind?"

"No, I didn't. And I still don't." She smiled back, "You just kept walking until the place felt right."

"Eheheh." He stuck a hand behind his head, laughing nervously.

"But it certainly does feel right. And it looks beautiful."

"Yeah…"

They stood at the edge of a cliff which opened up the horizon, revealing the ocean of trees that stretched beyond the capabilities of sight.

"I don't think I've seen so many trees in my life."

"The Endless Forest."

"Huh?"

"The Endless Forest," Misaki repeated, "It's called the Endless Forest. No matter how far you go, the trees keep on in an unmanageable pattern. After a certain point, when you turn back you'll find yourself right back where you started. No one can navigate it thoroughly because of the pattern which doesn't let you know where you've been or if you're going someplace that you haven't explored before."

"It's nice to know that certain things in life are set in stone, things that will never be explained."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well…how much fun would it be if we already knew everything? Never to have anything to explore, to dream, not to have any goals to reach for, having experienced it all? Life shouldn't be like that."

You know…thinking about it is a little to deep for me." Yusuke laughed.

Misaki found herself laughing beside him, and yet at the same time knowing that it wasn't true.

After a while Misaki sat on the edge of the cliff, gazing down at the trees which grew horizontally out of the rock all the way down. Yusuke sat next to her and they soaked in the view.

It was early afternoon when they headed back to the apartment, taking their time walking back just as they had walking to the cliff.

Misaki grasped the book in her pocket, thinking about the contents within it and determined to find out how Soren knew it was her birthday.

She glanced over at Yusuke, remembering his words. Life shouldn't be set in stone with one thing being just the same as the next. There would be mysteries that came, unable to be solved, forever hanging in the balance as an undefined result.

--

"Despite the fact that you actually had no idea where we were going, I enjoyed that Yusuke. Thank you." Misaki told him as she reached for the door knob to the rooms.

"Eheh, you're welcome."

The living room/kitchen/main area was empty and quiet, though a different sort of quiet than the one they walked through outside.

_"Everyone must have left." _Misaki thought, seeing no one.

"Don't think that you can always get what you think you ought to Ansatsusha."

"Coahtu. I'd recognize that smell anywhere."

"And what smell would that be?"

"Fire. You always smell of fire." Misaki turned to see that Coahtu stood behind the kitchen's counter. "What brings you here, Fire-wings?"

Coahtu cocked her head a little, hands tucked in the sleeves of her kimono, "You of all people should know, Ansatsusha. Doesn't today hold some sort of significance to you?"

Kurama came walking out of his and Hiei's room, holding a cake in his hands.

Everyone else came filtering out of the rooms: Botan, Kuwabara, Aldeve, Soren, Nicolai, Ike, Hiei, Eldred, Yukina, Genkai. They all came out until the room was overflowing.

Ike just grinned at Misaki's death-glare expression, but the air in the room sudden became tense, the mood a cautious one.

Walking to the counter, Kurama set the cake down and faced her.

Misaki's ice-cold gaze pierced them all, finally coming to rest on the cake as if to freeze it.

"Misaki?" Yukina walked right up to her and stopped, her red eyes questioning.

Taking no notice, Misaki swept the room again, taking in all of the attendants. She slowly raised a hand, pointing a finger at the cake.

"If anyone so much as tries putting candles on that cake, I will kill them."

Soren and Ike burst out laughing and Aldeve giggled, running over to fiercely hug the glowering woman. The tension was immediately lifted, though Misaki's expression hadn't changed any.

"Dear Ansatsusha, I do not believe that we could ever find enough ingredients to make a cake large enough to fit that many candles on it." Eldred's face was perfectly serious and he and Misaki stared each other down, Aldeve's arms still wrapped around Misaki's unresponsive body, though now perhaps to hold her back.

"The same goes for you, cherished Eldred."

He smiled and while Misaki's response was a bit grimmer, it could still be considered a slight upturn of the lips.

"Who would like some cake?" Kurama brandished a knife, Soren reaching into the cabinets and pulling out some plates, placing them nearby.

Most of the others scrambled towards him, wanting to satisfy their sweet-tooth.

Misaki sat down on the couch, watching the others as they started to mingle about.

"Misaki?"

"Hm?" Misaki saw that Yukina was coming up to her, hands cupped together carefully.

"I got you something." The girl could barely contain her happiness.

"Got me…something?" Misaki grimaced.

Kurama, done cutting cake, watched the scene carefully, unsure of how Misaki would react. Would she really hand whatever present it was to Coahtu for immediate burning?

"Here. Hold out your hands."

Obviously reluctant, Misaki obeyed, hands held palms up in front of her.

Slowly, Yukina dropped a small, blue pulsating orb into Misaki's waiting hands.

"It's a pendant. It goes around your neck. But there's a secret." Yukina climbed onto the couch and whispered in Misaki's ear.

Misaki's eyes widened, "Yukina! How did you manage to…"

Yukina shrugged, but her eyes danced, "I had help from the lady of the water. I don't think I'll ever be able to do it again. Here, let me put it on!" Yukina carefully took it back and placed about Misaki's neck, hooking it in the back.

Aldeve was peeking from behind the counter, through the crowd of people surrounding it, her fork upside down in her mouth as she took another bite of cake. She smiled carefully at Misaki and Misaki blinked a couple of times, unsure what sort of reaction she should be having.

"It's very pretty Yukina. Thank you." Misaki held the orb in two fingers and smoothed her fingers over it. It was round, its circumference about the size of a dime. Standing up, Misaki tucked it underneath her shirt where it nestled close to her heart. "It's a precious gift."

"I'm so glad you liked it."

"Vho do vou meenf?" Kuwabara swallowed the big bite of cake he had just taken, "You aren't going to have Coahtu burn it?"

"…burn it?" Yukina's eyes got big and watery as she looked back at Misaki.

"Uh…uh I didn't mean it, Yukina! Eheheheh! It's nothing, nothing at all! Nevermind." Kuwabara tried to comfort her.

"Misaki, there is someone here to see you." Genkai stood at the doorway, someone just barely taller than her waiting outside in the hallway.

"M…Missie?" The voice belonged to a young boy who was trembling a little, shyly tapping his foot against the floor.

Misaki frowned. Missie? He must have been mistaking her for someone else.

"Missie?" He asked again, searching for her. His eyes brightened when he spotted her and he stepped into the room. "Missie save me? Missie?"

"Save you…wha…I don't…" The confusion on Misaki's face was obvious.

The kid toddled forward and hugged Misaki's leg, happiness clear on his face.

Misaki was clearly uncomfortable and awkwardly stood while the boy clutched her thigh.

"Long time ago, Missie save me." His big blue eyes peeked over his little hands that held part of her pants. "Missie no remember?" His face was sad and his lip trembled.

Misaki just stared at the child, unsure of what she was supposed to do.

"Sheesh. I didn't know she was this awkward with kids." Yusuke scoffed quietly.

"Well we never have seen her in this sort of situation. Don't you think it would be a trifle odd if it was happening to you?" Kurama asked him.

"Nope." Yusuke promptly walked over and snatched up the kid, spinning him around in the air.

The boy giggled happily, spreading his arms wide as he flew in circles in the air.

"Alright, well I'm finished torturing the Ansatsusha. Come Aldeve. We shall go." Coahtu announced, motioning with a bit of an elbow jerk for Aldeve to follow.

The two disappeared in a flare of fire and water, respectively.

Yusuke, holding the boy with one arm, watched the exit, shaking his head. "Always a flashy exit."

"'Round, 'round!" The boy requested, swinging his body back and forth.

Yusuke laughed, obliging.

Genkai left soon after Aldeve and Coahtu, with Botan and Yukina in tow. Ike and Soren said their goodbyes about the same time, dragging Nicolai away from Botan and Yukina before Kuwabara realized what had been happening. The boy followed after Genkai, taking a liking to the grumpy old sensei. This left Kuwabara and Yusuke who went into their room and crashed.

Misaki went into Kurama and Hiei's room as Kurama was cleaning up, and leaned out the open window.

"Where's Hiei?" Misaki asked, knowing Kurama approached from behind.

He placed a hand on the window sill, resting his weight on it and gazing outside. "He left. Quite a while ago actually. He never likes being around so many people. Unless he happens to be fighting them."

They stood side-by-side for a moment. It was dark outside already.

"So who was the boy that came? I'm guessing that by referring to you as 'Missie' that you two must know each other."

Misaki frowned. "Elements aren't supposed to interfere." She mumbled.

"Pardon?"

Misaki shook her head, smiling a little, "But I did. Interfere that is. He was supposed to die and I saved him."

"Then you were meant to save him."

"He was supposed to die." Misaki snapped suddenly, "He is now at the mercy of fate which will continue chasing him, never resting until it has claimed him in any way possible. By doing so, I have created an alternate timeline for him. He will never live a normal life."

Kurama spoke quietly, "And yet there must have been a reason why you save him."

She didn't answer for a moment. "He was so helpless." She whispered finally.

"Then you were meant to interfere. You were there at the right time for a reason. Are you beating yourself up for this?"

The silence was an affirmative.

"You should not. He is alive now, not dead."

"And yet perhaps he is better off dead. Who knows what lies in store for such a child who is beyond the grasp of time, living of seconds that are not his own."

Her vehemence indicated to Kurama the something else was in fact bothering her but he let her continue in the direction she began.

"This is why time travel is forbidden. It creates too many side-tracks. Have you heard the story of the children who went back in time to correct a horrible mistake?" Misaki went on, not paying attention to Kurama's response—which was in fact a negative— "They had found that a horrible mistake in the past had lead to the future they knew, one of poverty and depression. They went back and 'fixed' said mistake, coming back to the future to find it happy and prosperous. While walking, one of them stepped on an insect that was vital to the passage of time that would keep said timeline prosperous. Their world spiraled lower than before, but then if they could go back and fix that problem, the result could be ten, a hundred times worse, and result in an infinite number of dimensions each devoted to every choice they changed." Misaki shook her head, clearing her thoughts, "I don't know why I'm saying this. It doesn't make any sense."

"It does make sense," Kurama admitted, "But how does that relate to the boy?"

"I don't know." Misaki shrugged, suddenly deflated, "If I could just go back and let him die…but could I let him die if I went back a second time…?"

"Your worry of the past prevents your present from being all it could be. Why worry about things that cannot be undone? Go with what has been done and accept it, good or bad."

Misaki shrugged again, sighing, "I hate pity, self-pity, and yet I think I am the one who does it the most." She shrugged once more, as if throwing off the stupid past. Kurama was correct, as usual, let the past worry about itself.

The orb throbbed around Misaki's neck and her breath caught in her throat.

"Misaki?" Kurama saw her grab part of her shirt, underneath which the pendant was concealed.

"Something…something's wrong…it's…it's Hiei…"

--

_What does the pendant do? Hmmm? That's just something you're going to have to wait and find out. NO it isn't one of Yukina's tears or her mother's tears or any tear from any Ice Maiden or otherwise so stop thinking it's that because it isn't. You'll find out. Just wait. Heheheh_

_-lotsm_


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Wow I'm just spitting these out aren't I? I really haven't been expecting to work on this that much because I've been so busy but I've suddenly gotten in the typing mood and well…here's the next chapter!

O/C24: Yusuke takes Misaki on a walk while the others prepare her birthday party. They come back to the rooms later in the afternoon and Misaki doesn't completely explode on them when they celebrate;Yukina gives Misaki a mysterious gift, a necklace with a blue, glowing stone on it. After eating cake and hanging out, most everyone who attended leaves, Kuwabara and Yusuke retiring to their room. Misaki wonders where Hiei went and Kurama tells her that he left some time during the gathering. But while standing at the window, Yukina's necklace begins to pulsate and Misaki realizes that Hiei is in danger…

--

The crowded room and noisy people led to Hiei's silent departure out the window. He was surprised Misaki took it so well. If they had done something he hadn't wanted them to do he probably would have killed them.

He wandered about for a while before finding a tree to rest in, napping lightly until the world became darker; then he awoke.

The air was now crisp and cool, lending that sense of openness even to the dense forest. Not the most pleasant scent to the finely tuned nostrils of the fire youkai walking along the ground, but certainly not the worst. Though perhaps one who much preferred the smell of a thousand rotting corpses wouldn't be the best judge of such a thing.

He leapt up into a tree to watch the moon rise, afterwards deciding to spend some time training, fighting invisible enemies and the like. It was nothing terribly exerting, but enough to keep his body prepared for the battle tomorrow.

After one such execution of an intricate sword attack, Hiei paused for a moment, allowing his stirred up blood to settle. While in the middle of an attack it was easy to continue on because of the motion already happening as well as the blood and brain flowing forward; it was the beginning, starting out cold, which poses a problem for all fighters. And so Hiei focused on this, knowing it to be true.

He sheathed his sword again, standing up normally and closing his eyes, commanding his body to cool down.

It was then that he became more aware that he was being watched. He had known the moment someone had come into the vicinity of course, but he only now realized that they were looking for him.

They came from behind, two of them and he did not turn around, preferring to place his hands in his pockets and wait. This was how he began all of his training, with the waiting, and so it appeared that he did not know of their presence.

"Jaganshi Hiei." It was a statement, not a question.

Hiei did not bless them with an acknowledgement.

"Who is the third member of your team?"

If they knew him, they knew Yoko Kurama as well and yet Hiei was not in an obliging mood. He continued to ignore them, eyes still shut as he waited.

"Tell us." Two ghostly voices drifted towards him through the night.

Hiei began walking away, tired of questions that he did not intend on answering.

The two figures appeared in front of him, their bodies completely shadowed so as not to reveal any features. "You will tell us or you will die."

Hiei smirked, "Do you really think so?"

He took off through the trees, quickly leaving the ground for the branches above. Glancing back as he left them, Hiei was pleased to see their forms disappearing rapidly behind him. He would be the one to choose the battle ground if they really wanted a fight. Let them come.

But his expression changed into one of surprise when he saw that they started after him, and gained on him faster than anything ever had before. This presented a challenge Hiei had been waiting for and had not received since the tournament started.

His steps quickened, his reactions doing the same as he dashed through the never-ending forest, never able to shake those who followed him.

Branch, leaf, trunk, grass, root, air, moonlight, shadow, all of these things were clear to Hiei as he ran onward even though they blurred together as a result of his fast feet.

Through the Jagan, Hiei examined the forest around him, searching for a prime spot for a fight. If their skills were as good as their speed, Hiei hoped so despite his own reservations, they would need the perfect battleground.

Something continued to gnaw at Hiei, something he could not put name to. And then suddenly, it dawned on him.

--

"Hiei? In danger?" Kurama asked making sure he was interpreting her words correctly.

Misaki nodded, "He's being chased by…" She trailed off, beginning to climb out the window.

Kurama leapt out of the window after her, following the stream of her white hair which billowed behind her as she ran.

--

Hiei knew even as his pursuers began closing in on him that he was beaten. It was an odd feeling for the warrior, knowing for certain the defeat was at hand. And yet he wondered how many people felt as he did, felt without a doubt that they were about to be taken down.

Deciding to meet his fate head-on and to take someone with him, Hiei stopped at the spot he chose and faced his enemies, standing under the canopy of trees with moonlight scattered around him, peaking through the leaves. He discarded his black outer cover, tossing it aside and bending his knees, hand poised just over his katana's hilt.

Those who followed him stopped abruptly, twenty feet in front of him. There were two of them, nothing special about them, though their features were shadowy because of the ever-shifting light falling between the trees.

None one said a word, Hiei sizing up his opponents and his opponents doing the same to him.

There was an out-of-place sort of peace that welled from deep within Hiei's fiery heart. Then they attacked.

As if on some cue only the three of them could hear they began all at the same time. Hiei struck out with deadly precision at his enemies to find that they themselves reacted with the same deadliness.

His katana would have gleamed in the moonlight if it was still enough for the light to reflect off of it.

Hiei's every move was executed with perfection, his wrist, his body responding with an accuracy and smoothness he had never noticed before. The motion of his arm was fluid, his stance never faltered, and yet with that same certainty, they began to out-fight him.

He noticed other things he hadn't ever taken into account; the feel of the grass beneath his feet, each blade as it bent under his foot, the smell of the trees around him, pine trees, the sap of a maple as well as other youkai-trees. He could feel his lungs expanding to take a breath, his fingers adjusting automatically to cause an easier counter-attack. He felt as though he was almost able to see the breeze which swept over and past him.

_"So this is what it is like to be on the losing side." _He thought absently in the midst of a parry, _"Strange."_

His body was being pushed to the limits and beyond. Hiei's exhilaration peaked even as he slowly gave ground. His technique was bar none, his speed and skill surpassing the greatest masters of the blade. But he was losing.

Hiei did not know how exactly he was losing. None of them had landed a blow, they all appeared equals but he was continually forced back. There were two of them yes, but that was not explanation enough.

Even as they moved about the trees, in and out and over and through, his strokes were coming faster than before, a mere blur seemingly nonexistent to a ningen eye. He stepped back again, dodging to the side, expecting to catch one enemy off-guard but knowing it was not possible even as he raised the katana to slice once more.

And he would not give up. Knowing he was a fallen warrior, he kept on, and would keep on until his arm dropped off of his shoulder in exhaustion. Then he would switch to the other and fight some more.

Then all three of them stopped, listening to the same cue which told them to do so.

Sweat glistened over Hiei's chest and back, but his breath came easily, perhaps deeper than ever. The clear air was even crisper than it had been. It was odd all of the things he noticed at this point; the color of the moonlight was not in fact silver but rather a combination of colors which hinted at the reflection of its source, the sun. There were deep craters in the surface of the moon and he was able to make out all of them, though he was not even looking directly at it.

The three of them broke apart on the same cue, giving time for more things to sneak into Hiei's awareness. He was completely composed, feeling his blood pumping through his veins as though he simply decided to take a walk somewhere.

It was that same peace, that same calmness telling him he lost, that washed over him before he broke out into a rage, refusing to stand still while death knocked at his symbolic doorstep, waiting for him to give out. They came at him again.

Faster and faster they struck, counterattacked and blocked, the small clearing they fought in whirling around them as the trio danced gracefully about in the moonlight in their intricate but lethal steps.

Hiei's rage gave him a bolster of extra energy, the silence around him buzzing in his ears as the still wind whistled over his eardrums from the swiftness.

Finally he felt the edge of his blade make contact. It was a particularly satisfying feeling to make the first hit, despite the retaliation across his cheek that quickly loosed blood down the side of his face. That's when he knew it was over.

Their next flurry of attacks was too quick even for the fire youkai; his skin shredded, blood pouring from numerous wounds that came from all sides. He did not know when he dropped his katana, only realizing in the back of his head that he no longer held the weapon in his hand.

Pricks of pain dotted his back and stomach, his arms and legs, tearing through his pants, leaving slices of the attacks in the cloth as easily as it did in his skin. The pain was actually a small burning sensation, resulting from an overload of the nervous system. Having no equivalent to such a high level of excruciation, the brain was only able to emit the pitiful burning sensation in its stead.

He held admiration for his adversaries, admiration for their speed which surpassed his own. No one had ever beaten Hiei at his own strength.

Gratefully he dropped to his torn knees when their carvings ceased. While his upper legs had not born the brunt of the strikes, he could feel the stripes going in every direction across almost every part of his body.

There was not a sound in the forest as Hiei fell onto his back, legs and arms spread out. Even the wind stopped.

He did not know if his foes were still nearby, though he vaguely sensed their presence still. Darkness threatened to overtake his vision but he held it off momentarily.

"Thank you." He said before allowing the darkness to consume him. If his enemies answered him, he was unable to hear it.

Hiei left himself, feeling light long before he ever saw it. The light was warm and beckoning, urging him onward, into the awaiting arms something akin to the sun. The light smiled at him, reaching out a hand, shining brightly through his darkness, reaching out for him, wanting him.

And so he reached back to the light, basking in the affectionate glow that made the being.

_"Ha ha, the forbidden child, dreaming of light." _

_"What?" _He asked the voice that came from nowhere and everywhere at once.

It turned cold. The light was different than before, it was not the light that was warm and waiting, that light was replaced by a ruthless presence. This light was piercing, harsh, and he was in the midst of it. He longed for the darkness but this light penetrated even the deepest of the darkness. He longed for that other light, the light that soothed, not this light which was cruel and unfeeling.

_"Bloody child Hiei, the other light cannot be yours." _The voice held laughter in its words.

_"What?" _He asked again, his own voice weaker than before.

_"Ta...meant…th...you…..cannot..."_

The voice was cut off from Hiei and he hazily felt a sensation run through his body which he was separated from. He was pulled away from both the light and the darkness, remembering what it was like to have a body. He crashed back into such a sensation, a quiet gust of pain escaping his lips because of the jolt.

Hiei tried to move, tried to open his eyes, something, but his body refused to respond. He could feel the Jagan's power steadily creeping back to him as he became more aware of the soft grass against his back—creating small uncomfortable points of contact with his skin—as well as the blood seeping out of him. He was also aware of the warmth like the first light healing him, mending his wounds. It swept through his body slowly, painstakingly knitting the torn skin back together. He realized that said light was no longer with him and he struggled with his body.

He regained control of his movements and started to sit up, opening his eyes.

A figure sitting next to him gently pushed him back onto the ground. He couldn't focus his vision, blinking several times and barely making out the tree branches above him.

Hiei's mouth opened to say something, but it shut unable to make a sound.

"Stay still." The figure ordered.

He knew the voice, knew it well but he could not place it. His vision cleared enough to see who it was.

--

_Not necessarily a cliffhanger but once again, there really isn't a good stopping point within a thousand words or so. Thanks for reading!_

_-lotsm_


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Yeah…um…here's another chapter.

O/C25: Hiei is chased by a pair who asked him about his team. Somehow knowing he was defeated before he started, Hiei refuses to answer them, instead choosing to fight. He is inevitably struck down, innumerable cuts and slices on his body, causing blood to seep quickly from him. He goes unconscious, dreaming of a warm light but it turns from him, becoming cold and harsh and telling him, the forbidden child, that he cannot have the first light. Slowly he is pulled away as he feels his body being healed. His eyes open…

--

"...Misaki?" He rasped; the cuts across his throat not healed yet.

"Shh." She reprimanded, hands moving over his chest and stomach as she repaired the damage done. "Save your strength." He was lucky. Lucky that Yukina's precious gift had been given. He had stayed out the whole time she had healed his legs. "Even with my help, you'll be lucky to stand any time soon." There would not have been time to fetch the koorime healer, Hiei would have died long before the girl could have come.

Because the two were so closely related, the jewel had sensed Hiei's danger just as if it was Yukina in trouble.

He remained still, eyes watching her every move now that he could focus them.

"...I didn't ask for your help...didn't want it..."

Misaki was reminded of her own words to him when he loosened her muscles after an unsuccessful attempt at a smooth transition from molecules to human form. She smiled sadly, shaking her head, "No, you needed it."

Just as he had known then, she knew now that he needed help and she willingly gave such, ignoring his protests.

She silently helped him into a sitting position, moving behind him before settling down again to work on his back.

He closed his eyes, feeling her fingers lightly brush the slices, each time leaving a healed warmth he was strangely familiar with behind.

"Who are you?" He asked suddenly, his voice quiet.

Misaki regarded him with amusement, though he did not see.

"Who is anyone?" She countered, "Do we ever know ourselves?"

"Who are you?" He asked again, his expression was dark as he turned his head slightly to hear her response more clearly. She did not answer.

Misaki's amusement faltered, then slid away.

"Who are you?" His question was harsher this time. The pair that attacked him wanted to know who the third member of their team was and Hiei realized that he didn't even know the answer to that question.

Somehow he felt betrayed by something and it frustrated him that he did not know what. The light. Cold and harsh and warm and comforting. Two sides of the light. Or was it two separate lights? It all broke apart in his mind, as if through a strainer and he rapidly began losing the words spoken to him.

"They are gone." Kurama said, coming up beside Misaki. He saw the look in Hiei's eyes and glanced between him and Misaki. "So that's what it was." He saw Yukina's necklace that circled Misaki's neck, the glow within the bauble receding as it became a simple blue stone.

"She should never have tried to do what she did." Misaki frowned as her hand passed over another cut underneath Hiei's shoulder blade. "She could have died. Even with Aldeve's help, the girl must have practically sacrificed herself to put her powers within it."

Hiei jerked his head around to see, a small grunt escaping his lips as a muscle that wasn't healed twitched in spasm.

"Stop moving." Misaki ordered.

Hiei grudgingly turned back around and sat still.

Standing over them, Kurama kept his eyes moving, watching every shadow and every tree for any sign of a return of the attackers.

When Misaki finished she sat back, resting for a brief second before getting up and brushing off her pants.

The next thing she knew, she was pinned against a nearby tree, Hiei's sword at her throat. It took a moment for her brain to catch up; Hiei had stood up and turned on her, drawing his katana while shouldering her into the tree where she now looked calmly into his eyes, her heart beating wildly as the steel pressed into her skin, causing an indentation but wasn't piercing, not yet at any rate. She had never realized had truly quick Hiei was until that moment.

"What do you want Hiei?" Misaki kept her voice as steady as she could, trying to get beyond the fierce crimson gaze but unwilling to venture into his mind herself.

He continued glaring at her but when she made no move to resist, to fight back, he took a step back, sheathing his katana slow enough that the 'shink' was audible and ominous.

Kurama relaxed after Hiei backed off, having been prepared for something even if he didn't know what he would have done if something had happened.

"Explain yourself." Hiei demanded.

"What needs explaining?" Misaki countered.

Not answering, he glared at her, unsure himself.

The forest silently loomed about them, not a single leaf shifting.

"Who are you? Where do you come from?" He finally provided, snarling the words out of his mouth.

Misaki shook her head, "If I am to explain, it will be to all of you. Let's go."

Misaki took off, Kurama peeling off behind her, leaving Hiei by himself until he at last followed them.

--

Yusuke yawned, "Shouldn't we be sleeping? The semi-finals are tomorrow, you know."

"Hush Yusuke." Kurama reprimanded.

Yusuke saw something in the kitsune's eyes that immediately woke him up and he turned his attention to Misaki, her face shadowy in the dim light.

As she began speaking, her words were clear as if what she said had either been rehearsed a great deal or inbred in her nature already.

"Many people believe that there is light in the world and there is darkness in the world. To an extent such a statement is true. And as there has always been light, so has there been darkness, for one could not exist without the other. Yet so it is that you do not know of one or the other, but only realize they are there when both are present. Like two sides of the same coin.

"And yet at the same time, they are in fact four sides of the coin, for there is darkness which is not and light which is not.

"More than light and dark, larger than good and evil, there is much grey; that which cannot be defined as one or the other, or when looked upon creates great puzzles holding no answer of either 'good' or 'evil'. And so the true battleground is not in fact good and evil, but instead the area between, ever growing, expanding, contracting as a living thing. More often than not, light is darkness and darkness is light and those who cannot understand this are broken. Black and white, heat and cold, air and earth, life and death, prayer and curse, each must provide an opposite, a balance. But which belongs to light and which to dark? It matters not for they are linked together eternally by something above their understanding."

All of them felt as though Misaki was desperately trying to tell them something though she could not say it, something they knew and yet could not understand; her words seemed foreign and distant.

"Forever locked in battle are these two entities. Darkness can never overcome the light and yet it continues to pursue that goal. Light knows that neither can exist without the other, for there must be balance. Some say that this is light's downfall, light's inherent flaw: compassion. Compassion for the darkness which even when surrounded by the light is unable to understand it.

"And so the war wages constantly, on one front or another. Sometimes darkness wins a battle, other times light is victorious. It is the way of the universe. Without such balance, there is chaos and with chaos there is nonexistence. These things are told to us in our dreams, these things we know are true deep within ourselves and we are born with them. We will die with them. The time will come to pass and some may pass with it. These truths will echo endlessly through the corridors of time. And beyond."

And all of a sudden, she was finished. Whatever she had been trying to say, it was up to them to discover for themselves. Through her words they could almost feel the ties that bound every living being, and they almost understood something they knew they never figured out, something that was truer than the light and darkness, something beyond it.

"I tell you this for reason that you won't understand until later, when you are ready to understand, but perhaps such thoughts will come to you then and you will make sense of them. That is who I am."

"What of your past?" Hiei broke the silence, at last understanding what he really wanted to know. The memories he gleaned from her while they shared one mind were blurred and distant now and if he tried to reach out for them they shrunk back farther.

Her smile was small, "My past? My past is my own; a tale which if told in its entirety would take countless pages if written and eons if spoken down to every last detail. Even I who lived through it cannot account for every hour, every day. Weeks and months pass by in the merest blink, for as one grows in age, the years shrink in size.

Misaki shook her head, "Maybe one day when the time comes, my past can be written down." She smiled again, suddenly becoming the old Misaki, "But only when they figure out a way to transfer everything simultaneously and have some sort of storage saving space for it." Misaki stood up. "Alright. I'm going to bed. Which means you all have to leave the room." She shooed them away, eventually able to nestle herself under a blanket on the couch when they were gone. She sighed and waited for morning.

--

There were more seats filled in the coliseum than ever before. Of course, now that the semi-finals were taking place, none of the other combatants who lost had anything else to do but watch.

Hiei, Misaki and Kurama stood at the top of the stands, peering down at their comrades who waited below them in the coliseum for their match to start.

Misaki caught sight of Ike and Soren and as they waved, nodded to them.

"You aren't going to join them?" Kurama wanted to know.

"They are the enemy after all." Misaki responded after shaking her head.

"Hn."

--

"Man I hate waiting." Kuwabara frowned, his arms crossed over his chest. "The fighting I don't mind but the waiting I don't."

"I hear you." Yusuke agreed.

The short sensei who stood between them kept quiet, her face drawn and troubled. She had heard about the opponents they would be facing. In all of her long years, Genkai had never come across any of the ancient winged races of the youkai. She knew of them of course, but they mostly kept to themselves and appeared only on rare and important occasions. The fact that one of their opponents could be a chanter isn't what was bothering the old woman—the chanting would only affect youkai, not humans—it was the fact that they appeared so rarely. And usually when they appeared it was in response to something cataclysmic or would be cataclysmic itself. That bothered her. Something big was going on and it was something that stirred in the back of her mind, something she knew and yet could not recall…what was it?

"Team Urameshi, Team Lanora, please make your way to the center of the arena."

Automatically, Yusuke, Kuwabara and Genkai walked forward, the team across from them doing the same until both were about ten feet apart.

Yusuke's eyes searched his prospective enemies. Two men, one built sturdier than the other, the second quite slim. And one woman. Or girl really.

The girl reminded Kuwabara of Yukina. He smiled at her warmly, only getting a cold glare in response. Kuwabara frowned. There was something in her eyes that concerned him.

If they did in fact belong to the race of the winged ones, Genkai knew on sight that all three of them belonged to the Heron race. The long blonde hair, porcelain pale skin, and white robes with gold trim gave them away immediately. Genkai's thoughts turned darker. Herons were the rarest kind, even though they ruled over the others, and the only other time she could think of when a Heron was spotted had resulted in a long war. To see three of them? She did not wish to think of the consequences.

"Yusuke Urameshi." The tall slim one spoke up, a dazzling smile on his face, "Your name has even reached our tiny corner of the Makai."

"Well it's nice to have a fan." Yusuke quipped.

"Yes of course! That would be nice wouldn't it." The man raised a delicate eyebrow, his smile looking to be frozen on his face.

"Man, I feel like I could break him just by looking at him." Yusuke whispered.

"And yet he is probably the one who could literally do such to you." Genkai responded just as quietly.

Yusuke kept his opinion about that to himself for once, anxious for a good fight.

"Semi-finals, Brackets 3 and 4. Last man standing."

There was a huge rush of air and Kuwabara almost fell over as the ground beneath them rose several thousand feet into the air.

"First to fall loses. Choose your fighters."

"First to fall does what?" Kuwabara gaped over the edge of the small island, about fifty feet in diameter, all six of them now stood on.

"I think they meant to say 'dies'." Yusuke smiled.

"Not funny Urameshi!"

--

"What are the rules here for last man standing?" Kurama asked Misaki.

Her head leaning back slightly so that she could watch the match, Misaki glanced at Kurama briefly, "One on one. Fighting goes on until one combatant can't fight any longer. Then the next steps on to the field. The battles continue as such until there is one man, or team, left standing." She frowned, "And from the semi-finals on, death counts."

--

_I have this urge to go 'dun dun dun' so I will. DUN DUN DUN For anyone who is reading this who keeps up with this story, I am so sorry that updates have been so slow. This one should have come sooner but I didn't realize exactly where chapter 25 stopped and so I had more written for this chapter than I first thought. Thanks for being patient. And as always, thanks for reading._


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: Woo. Another chapter. Yesss.

O/C26: Yukina had given Misaki a jewel that contained Yukina's healing power and Misaki was able to use the gift to heal Hiei. Hiei then demands to know of her past and she and the others sit down late in the night and she tells them what she can. The next day comes with Team Urameshi facing off against Team Lanora, the Heron team. The match is one that takes place high in the air and the first to fall off the suspended island loses.

--

The two teams were back on their respective sides, choosing their combatants.

"I'm going first." Kuwabara announced, marching towards the center, his spirit sword out and ready.

"Glad he asked if it was okay." Yusuke rolled his eyes as he watched the red-headed lug tromp away. He squinted across to see who the other team was choosing to fight. It took him a second to recognize the shape that stepped out for the fight. "Oh this is just great." He smacked his forehead. The other team had chosen the girl.

"Wait! She…! It…! I can't fight a girl!!" Kuwabara yelled up at the ceiling, brandishing his sword threateningly.

"Please don't." She answered softly, blonde hair shimmering beautifully in the light. That something in her eyes that Kuwabara had seen was back. He couldn't place what it was but it bothered him. Insane? No. Afraid? No.

"Round One. Begin."

Neither of them moved for a moment. Then something struck Kuwabara hard, ripping through his sleeve and forcing him to take a step back.

"What was that? She didn't even move!" Yusuke gaped.

Kuwabara grasped his sword in both hands, the orange light steady in his fingers. Something struck his other arm this time, his balance put off again.

"Defend yourself you idiot!" Yusuke shouted.

"Look with your awareness Kuwabara." Genkai yelled at him, "Her energy is different than what you're used to. Get a lock on it and you can see what she's doing. You may not want to fight her, but it doesn't mean she has to hit you."

"Oh yeah…" Kuwabara remembered the fight with the Siren girls. He didn't have to stand still and let her chip away at him.

--

"I don't have a good feeling about this." Misaki watched the battle unfold.

"If he doesn't decide to do something soon, it could end quite badly for him." Kurama noted.

"And at this rate, he really is going to get himself killed." Hiei commented.

--

Kuwabara's knuckles were white from concentrating on the girl in front of him. The next time she attacked, he saw it. A bright energy emitted from her body and then shot forward towards him. He was surprised he hadn't seen it the other two times but now that he had a lock on it, it was obvious. Blaringly obvious. He stepped back to steady his stance and blocked with his sword, the energy being absorbed. His hands tingled with the sudden surge but returned to normal quickly.

The next attack came from his left. Then his left again. Then the front. Each time Kuwabara stepped back, readied himself, and took the blow with his sword.

"Wait! Kuwabara you numbskull!!!" It had taken a little bit for Yusuke to realize what was going on. "Look where you are!!"

"Huh?" Kuwabara glanced around. He was only a few inches away from the edge of the island. She had been pushing him back the whole time. He had been so absorbed in his task that he had forgotten where his feet were being placed. "Oops."

When Kuwabara looked back up, she was standing directly in front of him. There wasn't anything he could do except step backwards off of the island without somehow making her move. And for whatever reason, Kuwabara really didn't want to touch her.

"This is stupid!!! I can't fight a girl!!!" Kuwabara yelled again, "Stop the stupid tournament! I refuse!!"

"You could surrender." She told him, "Please."

"Surrender??…I…" he trailed off as he recognized the look on her face, behind her bright blue eyes: fear. She was afraid. Of him? No. Something was wrong. He glanced behind her at the two figures standing on the other side of the floating island. Of them. It was as if she was speaking to him without saying a word.

They had something. Something of hers that was precious to her, more precious than her own life or anyone else's, something that they would destroy if she did not follow their commands. And something that would destroy countless lives if gotten rid of. And so she did, forced to because of what they held of hers. And she knew, knew that even if she did as they said, eventually there would come a time when she was not of any use to them anymore and they would dispose of her. But for now, for her and whatever it was that they had of hers, life continued. Please. Please give up. She pleaded with him.

And so the spirit sword flickered and faded as Kuwabara dropped his defenses.

Her counter was immediate, the bright energy storing up again and then blasting into him, throwing him up into the air and off of the island.

As he fell, Kuwabara realized that her attack hadn't actually hurt. In a moment of strange demented thought, he wondered if she wanted him in perfect health when his body splattered onto the ground.

It occurred to him that perhaps his life would start flashing before his eyes at any moment. He hoped he could see Yukina in them. And he hoped that Yukina would some day find her brother. That would make her happy.

The fall seemed to Kuwabara to be in slow-motion, even though the ground was rushing to meet him. The wind through his clothes made a flapping noise that he never noticed before, even when he had stood in strong wind.

Perhaps this way, the girl would get back whatever it was she needed, whatever it was her people needed in order to survive. That was a small price, no? One life for many.

Oh how he wished he could see Yukina's face. See it one last time. Just once….her green hair…her crimson eyes…

"Yu…Yukina…"

Kuwabara didn't even feel the impact of the ground.

--

"I can't believe it." Misaki shook her head, not taking her eyes away for even a second.

Hiei snorted, "I can't believe he didn't use his spirit sword to stop his fall. Maybe even shoot himself back up to the island. Baka."

"That certainly ended differently than I thought it would." Kurama admitted, his voice holding a hint of relief.

--

Kuwabara opened his eyes and found himself suspended inches from the ground.

"Wha! What the!!" He immediately flailed about wildly, even as he was gently set down.

"Round One, Team Lanora winners. Choose your next fighters."

--

"He…he's not dead." Yusuke sighed in relief as he scooted back from the edge.

"Insolent girl." Genkai grunted. "Saving him at the last minute. Why did she let him fall if se did not desire to kill him? I've had enough of this." She walked forward, hands clasped behind her back, to the center of the island where Leanne waited.

Yusuke just stared after the usually calm and collect sensei. That was a tone of voice he had never heard from her before, not even when he had been training with her to get her spirit wave technique. As he watched, he could see that something was really bothering her, by the way she walked to how she was holding her shoulders. Something about this girl was really bothering her.

"Round Two. Begin."

"Enough games, bleach-wing. You and yours bring doom upon those they come in contact with who are not of their kind. Why are you here?" It was more a demand than a question.

Leanne hesitated, her mouth slightly open.

"If you do not have an answer, begone carrion eater."

"Woah, grandma! Don't you think that's a little bit harsh? She's just a kid!" Yusuke shouted.

"You misunderstood Yusuke. For one, she can take on any age she chooses. She is in fact quite old, are you not?" Genkai did not wait for an answer from the heron, "Secondly, she desecrates the bodies of the dead by eating them. Herons only appear when their food supply is low. Then they start an epic war so that they can be sure to be well fed, feeding off the decaying flesh. Countless numbers are killed because of the wars they have started."

"Hey a body's gotta eat, you know. And it's not like the dead people are using the body anyway." Yusuke muttered. He had never seen the old lady get so worked up about anything before. She just wasn't the type of person to get easily excited.

--

"Carrion-eaters. Hm." Misaki put a hand to her chin thoughtfully.

"I assume you already knew that." Kurama raised an eyebrow.

"No. Not really. Youkai aren't my specialty. Being an Element, I've never had any interest in anything other than the really major types of youkai. A matter of foolish pride I suppose. Though the winged ones are often overlooked because they prefer not to involve themselves in anything but themselves. That would explain a few unexplained wars though. I bet they chanted lies into the opposing side's ears…" She trailed off, lost in thought.

--

"The dead deserve more respect than that Yusuke." Genkai said, "Please don't throw my body to carrion feeders when I die."

"Not that there's much to eat there grandma."

"That's beside the point." Genkai rolled her eyes though Yusuke didn't see it since she was still staring down Leanne.

The girl hadn't moved, remaining wide-eyed in the center of the ring.

Genkai moved quickly, appearing in the air beside Leanne and swinging her body around to land a solid kick into the side of Leanne's head, her hands never moving from their familiar clasped position behind her back. The girl was thrown across the island, falling to the ground and sliding a ways, her blonde hair and white robes spread out as she slowly pushed herself up off the floor. Genkai alighted deftly a few feet away from her, her feet barely making a sound as she landed.

"You seem innocent. It's quite the act. Just how many of the dead have those lips touched?" Genkai asked.

--

"Odd." Kurama frowned. "Genkai is not usually one to talk so much."

"I have never seem her heckle an opponent before like this. What is she doing?" Misaki wondered.

--

Looking out from behind a veil of long hair, Leanne's mouth opened and shut, her chin quivering as her eyes began to fill with tears.

"Sheesh Genkai! You made her cry!" Yusuke protested.

"I do not pity you, hatchling." Genkai spat, "Your tears mean nothing to me."

At the word 'hatchling', Leanne's eyes narrowed. She had seen more years of life than this old woman could ever imagine, how dare she demote her by calling her such.

"Yes. That's right. Become angry with me. It's the only defense you have now isn't it?" Genkai said quietly, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

Daintily, Leanne arose, her hair still shadowing her face.

Genkai vanished again, going for the same move as before: a kick to the side of the head.

It did not appear as if the kick met its mark, for Leanne did not flinch. An almost invisible barrier quavered at the point of impact.

Knees bent when her feet touched the ground, Genkai jumped again, around the back of Leanne's body, twisting her torso masterfully through the air to position her shin in an attempt to hit her foe against the cheek. The barrier vibrated again, preventing any physical contact.

Unable to hide her smirkish smile any longer, this time Genkai repelled away to the front of the girl.

Genkai's hands still hadn't moved from behind her back, the position comfortable for the psychic sensei.

She launched forward, easily taking off from the ground and heading directly for Leanne's face.

The driving force behind Genkai's foot and the angle at which she was coming down at Leanne allowed Genkai to remain suspended in the air momentarily, her foot planted solidly against the chanted barrier Leanne erected in defense.

In that moment, Genkai heard Leanne's mutterings, her chantings, as she kept her opponent from attacking directly. The words were slung together and fell across the heron's tongue almost instinctively. But the tone of the language changed quickly and Leanne's head snapped up, her hair falling silkily away from her face as if from a blast of wind.

"Forgive me, heron-wing." Genkai said quietly. No one else heard save for the ears the words were meant for.

Unable to stop the effect of the chant, Leanne's eyes widened once more, the bright blue astonishment evident in them. Genkai flew backwards through the air towards the side of the island.

All of this happened in only an instant: Genkai struck and was then blasted away over the side, her face revealing that she hadn't been expecting such a powerful retaliation. Perhaps if she had reached out with an old hand she might have caught the edge, her arm possibly holding her there long enough for the woman to adjust her falling into a leap back onto the island. But she didn't.

A rapid alteration in her words allowed Leanne to save the sensei from a broken spine as a result of an impact with the ground.

"Round Two. Team Lanora winners."

--

"Very odd." Kurama watched closely as Genkai did not crunch into the ground but instead floated for an instant above it before disappearing like Kuwabara had.

--

That had not just happened. Genkai had not just been beaten by some blonde haired kid.

Yusuke looked over the edge again, just as he had with Kuwabara. He cursed. Yes. Yes it had just happened. What was going on? There was something he was not understanding here, something he was missing.

He faced the center of the circular patch of land, eyes resting on the blond haired heron-girl. Her eyes bored into him, into his very soul. What was going on? He shuffled out towards her.

"Begin."

Yusuke stood still, unsure of how to proceed. Attacking her wouldn't do anything, would it?

Leanne moved forward, almost floating along the ground until she stood right next to him, about an arms length away. Then she spoke.

"Please. Please do not resist. They will do worse things to you if you do live. When you fall off the edge, I promise that I will not let you hit the ground. You will live and be able to go on. If you defeat me, my brethren will not be so kind."

Yusuke glanced at her from the corner of his eye, quickly moving his gaze so that he looked directly across the battlefield at the other two members of Leanne's team.

Two other herons. One tall and slim, the other just as tall but more built. Yusuke had seen a lot of things in his short life, a lot of strange things that would seem even stranger if he ever attempted to explain them. But never had he seen eyes as cruel as the ones that stared out across at him, wondering what was passing between the two fighters as they stood so close together.

Yusuke thought briefly about the reward for winning the tournament. Misaki had never told them about the grand prize. The Dark Tournament would grant one wish. What would the Tournament of Threes do?

All of these thoughts passed briefly thought Yusuke's mind. He held up a hand, his arm outstretched with his pointer finger resting just at the side of Leanne's head.

The girl did not move. Did not even flinch.

The tip of Yusuke's finger began to glow a bright blue color.

"Heh." He ducked his head down, a small smile on his face, "I don't think any tournament opponent I've ever had is as kind as you."

His finger glowed brighter until he fired off a single shot directly into her temple.

--

_Great spot to end at, right? Of course right. Heh. Thanks for reading!_

_-lotsm_


End file.
